Writing Grants and Manuscripts

Writing NIH grants and biomedical manuscripts remains a major challenge for many researchers and clinicians world-wide, and many reputations and careers rest on the ability of scientists to communicate clearly and forcefully.

To be successful, researchers at all levels and fields must master grantsmanship and writing techniques often not available to them. From continued requests by Dartmouth students and faculty, this section was produced as an important resource for staff, students, postdoctoral and physician fellows, and faculty that addresses this challenge.

This resource was written by Christopher Dant, PhD, formerly of Dartmouth Cancer Center and the Department of Immunology/Microbiology at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Included are links and files for NIH Grant Writing and Peer-Reviewed Biomedical Manuscripts. Dant's recorded seminars on these topics are also available to watch, and you can also read his paper on effective writing skills (PDF).

Writing NIH Grants

NIH grant resources

• NIH institutes
  Quickly jump to any NIH institute, office, or center.
• Types of grant programs
  NIH uses activity codes (e.g. R01, R43, etc.) to differentiate the wide variety of research-related programs they support. NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) may vary in the way they use activity codes; not all ICs accept applications for all types of grant programs or they apply specialized eligibility criteria. Look closely at funding opportunity announcements to determine which ICs participate and the specifics of eligibility.
• NIH grant success rates
  As part of the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT), this resource shows the percentage of reviewed grant applications that receive funding by research grants, training, and research career awards.
• Weekly NIH funding opportunities
  Important notices, requests for applications, and program announcements.
• Parent program announcements for unsolicited investigator-initiated applications
  All NIH parent announcements for research (R), training (T), career development (K), and fellowship (F) applications.
• NIH Office of Extramural Research
  NIH grant process, policy, funding, forms, deadlines, and initiatives.
• How to Write a Research Grant—The Game Plan
  Gives you a strategy for pursuing your research and helps you decide whether to submit an investigator-initiated application or respond to an institute initiative.
• Samples and examples of grants
  List of all samples and examples that are part of the grant application from NIAID and NIH.
• NIH RePORT: Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool
  Replaces the old CRISP database—this searchable engine gives you all funded projects by many variables. One useful search is "By Study," located in the lower right column.
• Dartmouth Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP)
  A central resource to support the research enterprise at Dartmouth by providing guidance and stewardship for the research community and the college.
• Funding opportunities from Dartmouth OSP
  Lists ARRA resources, recent funding opportunities, how to find funding, internal Dartmouth funding sources for faculty, and fellowship and career development awards.
• Dartmouth GrantGPS
  GrantGPS has helped catalyze scholarship for researchers of all ranks and disciplines at Dartmouth. With the aim of supporting faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and trainees during every aspect of their pursuit for funding and intellectual impact, they provide assistance with a host of associated tasks.

New grant instructions and forms for 2020

• Forms F grant applications
  Grant application forms and instructions for due dates after May 25, 2020

New and early-stage investigators

• NIH new investigator policies
  Definition of new/early primary investigators, frequently asked questions, and vital information from the NIH for any new investigators.
• New investigators program
  Questions and answers about citizenship, eligibility, transition to independence, and more.
• Advice for new investigators
  Answers to frequently asked questions from the NIAID.
• K-Awards kiosk
  Information about NIH Career Development Awards.
• National Research Service Awards (NRSA) training and fellowship grants
  NIH guide for NRSA funding opportunities at specific training stages and information about training grants and individual fellowship grants. The NRSA policies are also listed.

Writing peer-reviewed biomedical manuscripts

Resources

• Uniform requirements for biomedical manuscripts
  A list of common issues associated with manuscript writing, from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
• Authorship and contributorship defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
  Definition of what constitutes authorship uniformly accepted in the United States.
• Dartmouth Cancer Center Authorship Guidelines

How to write manuscripts

• "How to Write an Effective Discussion," Dean R. Hess, PhD (PDF)
• "How to Write the Methods Section of a Research Paper," by Richard H. Kallet, MSc (PDF)
• "Preparing Manuscripts for Submission to Medical Journals: The Paper Trail," by H. Gilbert Welch, MD, MPH (PDF)
• "Effective Use of Tables and Figures in Abstracts, Presentations, and Papers," by Charles G. Durbin, Jr., MD (PDF)

Online writing resources

• The American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style
  Dartmouth subscribes to the AMA Manual of Style, containing everything medical and scientific researchers, writers, and editors need to produce well-organized, clear, readable, and authoritative manuscripts.
• Common errors in English usage
  List of deviations from the standard use of English as judged by sophisticated users such as professional writers, editors, and teachers.