NIH Proposals
The National Institutes of Health provides considerable external support for research at NIU, particularly through the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA). In Fiscal Year 2009, NIU submitted 19 proposals and pre-proposals to the NIH and its constituent institutes and centers, requesting approximately $22 million in total project funding.
Help with NIH Proposals
NIH Quick Links
Here are some important links for investigators considering submitting a proposal to NIH:
- NIH podcasts on grant issues. (These appear on an occasional basis, approximately 1-2 per month; it's possible to subscribe via iTunes, if you have it.)
- Selected NIH Policy Notices. This page also includes a link to the NIH Guide archive of all policy notices.
- Application instructions for the standard SF424, the SBIR/STTR SF424, and the individual fellowship SF424. These are the standard NIH proposal guidelines; unless specific provisions are made in the FOA under which you are applying, these are the rules you must follow in putting together your proposal. Most people will need the Application Guide, which is the first item listed in the table on the linked page.
- Format for an NIH biographical sketch (MS Word). (A sample biographical sketch can be found here.)
- Standard due dates for competing applications. This table lists the cycle deadline dates for the most common NIH appation types. Most NIH programs accept proposals in three cycles. Something to keep in mind when considering submitting a proposal to NIH is the "earliest project start date" guidance at the bottom of this table. For Cycle I proposals (January-March submissions), the earliest project date will be in December of the same year. For Cycle II proposals (May-July submissions), the earliest start date will be April of the year following submission. And for Cycle III proposals (September-November submissions), the earliest start date will be July of the year following submission.
- NIH Funding success rates. Statistics on NIH proposal funding.
- Proposal writing tips (geared toward the R01 solicitation, but valid for all mechanisms; be sure to check against the guidelines for the competition you're applying to, as those guidelines will trump more general terms)
- NIH Program Areas, Institutes and Centers (ICs)
- Cross-cutting and NIH-wide programs:
- NIH Institutes, Offices, and Centers:
