R01 Writing Groups: Call for Applications


Submitting a first successful R01 is a major challenge. The University's KL2 program, a part of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, is again organizing R01 writing groups that will include up to five NIH defined new investigators who are pursuing their first R01 NIH award (or equivalent). Each group will be headed by one or two senior faculty members with extensive success with NIH awards and study section reviewer experience. The groups will foster peer and senior mentoring to produce top quality grant submissions. The groups are not intended to replace grant writing courses or seminars, but, rather, to provide advice, mentoring and time management for the grant writing process. As such, prior participation in grant writing courses or seminars, formal or informal, is encouraged.

The Plan

  1. The groups will meet starting the week of September 6th and continue approximately every other week to revise their aims until the early part of December 2021.
  2. In September through early December 2021, groups will meet to provide guidance and feedback on the Research Strategy (preliminary data, research plan, significance, and innovation).
  3. In mid-December 2021, there will be a mock study section. The junior faculty's content mentor or primary mentor will be expected to participate.
  4. In February 2022, the bright, ambitious R01 pursuers will submit their grant.

This team approach has been used nationally and locally to increase success with obtaining first R01s. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.Admission will be competitive based on a review of the specific aims page and preliminary data in place to support those aims. The application will include the investigator’s draft of specific aims. Applications are due August 2nd, 2021 by emailing necessary documents to Breanne Johnson Breanne.Johnson@hsc.utah.edu. Application documents should include:

  1. Current Specific Aims Draft following the format and steps in the template at www.grantcentral.com/downloads.html (create your bulleted outline link)
  2. Your Biosketch
  3. A List of collaborators for this proposal including their position, credentials
  4. Name of your Senior scientific mentor(s) if not listed in 3.
  5. Preliminary data and their relationship to each aim (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/preliminary-data)
  6. Evidence of completion of the required institutional Onboarding for new PIs. https://education.research.utah.edu/classes_by_title/onboarding-for-new-pis.php
  7. List of grant writing courses or seminars you have completed.

Please encourage your faculty, who meet new investigator status (never had an R01 or equivalent as PI) and who are well-poised to prepare a competitive application, to participate. The admissions contact is Breanne Johnson (breanne.johnson@hsc.utah.edu) and Lyalya Sultanova (lyalya.sultanova@hsc.utah.edu) will be providing administrative support for the program during its duration.