NIH Grant Writing Boot Camp: Building a Strong Foundation for Funding Success
This course demystifies the NIH application process through lectures, hands-on activities, and discussions; it will equip learners to craft compelling grant proposals, winning reviewer support for success.
November 12–13, 2025
Modules/Weeks
Weekly Effort
Discipline
School
Format
Cost
Course Description
- Learn strategies to demystify the NIH application process through intensive lectures, hands-on activities, and discussions.
- Craft a compelling NIH grant proposal to convert reviewers into advocates for success.
- Prepare to submit a well-positioned NIH grant proposal through comprehensive training.
- Develop skills to position oneself for success by mastering the art of grant proposal writing for the NIH.
Course Prerequisites
Participant should be prepared to share and work on an NIH Specific Aims page and an NIH biosketch.
What You Will Learn
Federal grants, particularly from the NIH, provide a critical means of support for academic research programs. Despite the importance of this support in advancing both research and researchers’ careers, training in how to obtain grants is uneven at best. This training gap leaves many researchers struggling to learn as they go, which can introduce significant stress, delay the time to a successful application, and impact their overall productivity. The good news is that training and hands-on practice can enable you to conquer grant writing, increase your chances of receiving funding, and devote more time to moving your scientific goals forward.
The 2-day NIH Grant Writing Boot Camp: Building a Strong Foundation for Funding Success will provide comprehensive training that supplies researchers with the tools to write persuasive, effective grant proposals. Through a combination of seminars, discussions, examples, and hands-on activities, with a particular focus on navigating between-the-lines on how to tailor your proposals to grant reviewers, this training will orient you to all aspects of the academic funding process (i.e., grant writing and grant strategizing), including:
- How to identify and apply for the right funding opportunities with the NIH (and beyond).
- How to position your research and yourself to make reviewers your research advocates.
- How to target your application to the right place at the right time.
- How to write clearly, effectively, and persuasively when telling your scientific story.
The workshop will begin with a live online seminar 2-3 weeks before the 2-day boot camp to introduce the fundamentals of drafting the Specific Aims page— that oh-so-important project overview that can ‘make or break’ the reviewers’ perception of the application.
The 2-day portion of the boot camp will cover critical topics that help you package your proposal for maximum impact:
- What the Aims page captures, why it’s so important to get it right, and how to tackle it.
- A comprehensive introduction to NIH funding announcements and award mechanisms: What to apply for and how to apply.
- Merit review: Understanding who, what, why, and how enables you to frame your application.
- Principles of good communication: How to ‘sell’ yourself and your science.
- Psychology of grant review.
- Tackling resubmissions for ultimate success.
Attendees will leave the boot camp with:
- A foundational understanding of the NIH granting process and how it pertains to public health research.
- Hard-copy reference materials for information retention & review.
- A refined Aims page.
- A refined NIH Biosketch.
One round of written feedback for a Specific Aims page will be made available to all attendees for 3 months after the boot camp, at no additional cost, further solidifying the boot camp concepts into practical skills.
Instructors
Jessica K. Lerch, PhD, Co-Founder, CareerVolt; Founder, Significance, Innovation, Impact. Dr. Lerch earned her PhD in Neuroscience at Case Western. She then completed postdoctoral training at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami and went to a Research Assistant and then a tenure-track Assistant Professor appointment in the Department of Neuroscience at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. In late 2017, Jessica moved to a science consulting role with Eva Garland Consulting, helping small biotechnology companies and researchers across the world strategize their science to achieve over $37 million in grant funding for their R&D and early-phase clinical trial projects. Jessica started her first company, Significance, Innovation, Impact, in 2018 as a grant-writing consultant. In 2019, Jessica joined with long-time friend and colleague Dr. Sheila Cherry to launch CareerVolt, born of their shared desire to help scientists succeed in their career paths by filling skills gaps and supporting attainment of professional goals.
Dr. Bronson received her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, and was a postdoctoral trainee with Oliver Smithies, DPhil at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Sarah spent her entire faculty career at the Penn State College of Medicine where she was a researcher, educator, and administrator. She is now an emeritus associate professor and associate dean. She was the co-director (2010-2020) of the nationally recognized Junior Faculty Development Program where she developed a holistic program that teased out the steps to scholarly project development as well as the path toward a sustainable and rewarding career. She was also a co-director for the Grants Academy, with a more specific focus on grant proposal development. As Director of Research Development (2014-2023) she implemented the internal awards program and the limited submission process.
Dr. Layman received his PhD at Texas A&M University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a minor in Philosophy. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and was the Donnelley Fellow at Yale University. He is a Senior Fellow in the Andrew Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability and a Research Professor in the Biology Department at Wake Forest University. He was a Full Professor at North Carolina State University, a Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Fellow in the Applied Ecology Department, and a founding member of the Global Environmental Change and Human Well-being Cluster. Craig is passionate about academic writing, reflected by his more than 160 scientific publications and over 17,000 citations, his successful grantsmanship, and his mentorship of hundreds of academic colleagues over his career.
Sheila M. Cherry, PhD, Co-Founder, CareerVolt. Sheila earned her PhD in Genetics at Case Western. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in 2009 she founded Fresh Eyes Editing to provide editing and writing support for scientists around the globe. During its 13 years in operation, Fresh Eyes helped investigators worldwide to secure hundreds of millions in research funding--tallying more than $275 million just in US federal funding. Recognizing some common skills gaps, particularly with respect to writing grant proposals and applying for funding, Sheila began offering workshops, online training, and individual career development programs in 2016. Sheila is a Certified Editor in the Life Sciences as well as a Certified Executive Coach. She is passionate about helping researchers achieve their career goals.