Resources

Funding

There is a searchable database of science award information from 17 federal funding agencies, including NIH, FDA, CDC, and NSF. The database (Federal RePORTER) is updated annually and includes information for ~900,000 projects. NIH has also developed the NIH RePORTER database which includes a “Matchmaker” tab. If you enter your specific aims or project summary you will find similar projects that have been funded by the NIH, which institutes funded those projects, which study sections reviewed them, and potential collaborators or SBIR/STTR-funded companies in your subject or geographic area to ask for advice.

NIH has posted their Review Criteria at a Glance that can provide helpful insight into preparing a competitive proposal.

NIAID at NIH offers a number of helpful resources for scientists seeking funding. Look here to learn more about the types of research funding available, with links to each type of grant for deeper dives. They offer a guide to help compare grants and determine which is best for your project. Another useful guide describes how NIAID sets their Research Priorities. You can keep up-to-date on NIAID's research priorities, and the funding opportunities that develop from them, by reviewing the Concepts posted after each quarterly Advisory Council meeting. And you can get advice on how to prepare a competitive unsolicited proposal for investigator-initiated research, like those for an R01 submitted to the parent program announcement. Finally, as you explore the guides and resources, you'll find several sample proposals for the most popular grant types.

A resource publication prepared by the Rosen Center is available to assist Caltech faculty and grants managers preparing DARPA proposals - "Helpful Guide for DARPA Proposals." Also available are templates offered by DARPA's Biological Technologies Office for the Technical Volume I Proposal and Cost Volume II Proposal. We hope you find these resources useful.

DARPA's Defense Sciences Office posted a number of helpful materials following their 2017 Discover DSO Day. Several briefs from the day's presentations available for download at this link.

Students

In April 2017, the Rosen Center completed a survey of 27 current Caltech students who have received awards and/or honorable mentions in the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. We have summarized their advice to colleagues who are preparing an application, and a list of resources they found particularly valuable. - "NSF GRFP Best Practices & Resource Guide."

American Journal Experts offers a free guide to Creating Effective Scientific Figures for Publication to "learn how to create visually appealing and informative figures that will help tell the story of your research." It is available for free download here.

Gordon Research Conferences believes that diversity and inclusion help to create thriving, scientific communities that drive innovation. They have established a number of programs and initiatives to help further diversity within conference communities. These include fellowships for URM graduate students, postdocs, faculty and scientists to receive funding assistance to attend their first GRC. You can get more information on these GRC programs here.

Postdocs

Caltech has established the Postdoctoral Scholars Office within the Office of the Provost, headed by Vice Provost Kaushik Bhattacharya. This office will serve as a resource for postdoctoral scholars, and assist them in navigating any issues that arise during their tenure at Caltech. A Postdoctoral Studies Committee with faculty representatives from the divisions, various administrative offices and the Caltech Postdoc Association has also been established and will meet quarterly to discuss issues surrounding the postdoctoral experience at Caltech.

Two resource publications are available for Caltech postdocs applying to the NIH K99/R00 program - "A Guide to the NIH K99/R00 Program" and the complementary "Walk-through Demonstrating How To Use NIH REPORTER To Search for K99 Awards."

NIAID's "Postdocs' Guide to Gaining Independence" is a valuable resource with advice on how to begin to prepare for your independent research career from the moment you join your mentor's group.

New Faculty

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award (YFA) program aims to identify and engage rising stars in junior faculty positions in academia and equivalent positions at non-profit research institutions and expose them to Department of Defense (DoD) and National Security challenges and needs. 2019 solicitation is here.

Since 2005, the Nature team has highlighted the importance of good mentorship for the development of the next generation of scientists and engineers through the Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science. Nature also curates a number of articles, blog posts, and editorials on mentorship from their portfolio of journals. As an example, this editorial from December 2017 explains why "Great mentoring is key for the next generation of scientists." We encourage you to visit for inspiration and to share your own insights.

Caltech's Educational Outreach Office can help members of the Caltech community develop strong educational outreach components for grant proposals with a broader impacts or outreach requirement. Our emphasis is on creating programs that provide both rich experiences for target audiences as well as meaningful professional development and growth for participating Caltech representatives.

Entrepreneurs

Check out the Business Concepts for Biomedical Scientists training program videos developed by iBiology and UCSF's Office of Career and Professional Development. The purpose of the Business Concepts for Biomedical Scientists training program is to enhance PhD scientists’ understanding of foundational business concepts. The course comprises a series of three modules - Business Strategy, Finance and Business Development.