Training Grants Proposal Development

Interested in Applying for a New Training Grant?

The University of Utah is committed to providing an excellent training environment for students and postdoctoral trainees and continually innovates and evolves to meet new challenges and changing needs. If you are faculty who is considering applying to a new training grant, there are a number of items to consider first. Explore the points below and we encourage you to reach out to the Program Officer as soon as possible to get feedback on your ideas.

The training grant team is always available to consult with on new ideas for training grants. Contact Sean Flynn or Jess Kieper. 

Things to Consider Before Committing

  1. What area of research will the training grant support?
    • First, confirm that these is not already an active U of Utah training grant that serves this area of research (active grants).
  2. Is there funding for a training grant in your research area?
  3. Who will make up your pool of trainees?
    • Graduate students?
      • What graduate programs do you plan to recruit trainees from?
    • Postdoctoral Fellows?
      • Is there a specific department or group of labs that you plan to recruit trainees from?
    • Clinical Fellows?
      • Do fellows have protected time to complete a full time research project?
  4. Who will you ask to be faculty mentors?
    • This is one of the most important questions. Things to think about:
      • How many mentors do you need (as a rule of thumb we suggested 3-4 for every trainee)?
      • Do your mentors have a history of graduate students and/or postdoctoral fellow training?
      • Do your mentors have active funding (ideally at the NIH institute you are submitting to)?

Anatomy of an Institutional Training Grant (T32)

  1. Introduction to Application (for Resubmission and Revision applications)
  2. Training Program Section
    1. Background
    2. Program Plan
      1. Program Administration
      2. Program Faculty
      3. Proposed Training
      4. Training Program Evaluation
      5. Trainee Candidates
      6. Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training
      7. Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity
    3. Plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research
    4. Plan for Instruction in Methods for Enhancing Reproducibility
    5. Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan (if applicable)
    6. Progress Report (for Renewal applications)
  3. Faculty, Trainees, and Training Record Section
    1. Participating Faculty Biosketches 
    2. Letters of Support
      1. Institutional Letter of Support
      2. OHEDI Letter of Support
      3. Others as needed
    3. Data Tables
      1. Census of Participating Departments and Interdepartmental Programs
      2. Participating Faculty Members
      3. Federal Institutional Research Training Grant and Related Support Available to Participating Faculty Members
      4. Research Support for Participating Faculty Members
      5. Publications for Those in Training
      6. Applicants, Entrants, and their Characteristics for the Past Five (5) Years 
      7. Appointments to the Training Grant for Each Year of the Current Project Period
      8. Program Outcomes

The training grant team can provide templates and examples of all the sections listed above. In addition, we will coordinate the data requests necessary to complete participating faculty biosketches, data tables, and the institutional and OHEDI letters of support. 

Contact Us

The Biomedical Training Programs team provides support for the health sciences training infrastructure at the U. Our team works closely with offices across campus to coordinate and support activities related to undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral trainees. We provide pre and post-award support for the 20+ institutional training grants on campus and stay current on national trends and evolving grant requirements to ensure compliance and enhance programs. Contact us with your questions about training programs and pre and post award support.

Sean Flynn, PhD
Associate Director, Training Programs
sean.flynn@hsc.utah.edu		 SarahMay Case
Academic Programs Manager (Post-Award Support)
sarahmay.case@hsc.utah.edu
Jess Kieper, CRA
Research Manager, Institutional Training Programs
jessica.kieper@hsc.utah.edu		 Jeanette Ducut-Sigala, PhD
Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Health Sciences Training Programs
j.ducutsigala@utah.edu