Course Description: 

This course is designed to provide students with instruction and practical experience in the art of planning and writing a research grant proposal. Students will become familiar with the structure of a research grant, including the development of the major sections of a grant proposal such as specific aims, background and significance, and experimental design. Development of the experimental design section will include approaches to discussion of experimental rationale, detailed research methods, expected results and interpretations, and potential pitfalls and alternatives. Students will also learn about the peer review process and how to critique a grant proposal. NIH-style grants will serve as the model for this course, although the general principles of grant organization and writing will be applicable to all research grants. Students will gain practical experience by sequential production of three written documents: (1) an NIH-style Specific Aims Page, (2) a Research Plan based upon expansion and development of one specific aim, and (3) an NIH-style critique of a grant proposal.