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Diversity supplements

F30/F31 guidance

Check out the shared drive for F resources from other students: MSTP Shared Drive

How to upload F materials for others to use
We have created an easy way to deposit your F award for other students to reference. Previous awards are incredibly useful resources for those who are going through the submission process. Please consider donating your hard work to the cause.

Instructions:

1. Navigate to this link
2. Create a folder using this template
   Name_MTA_F30/31_Submission_date_first_submission/resubmission. (example: LaurenStalbow_GDS_F30_April2021_resubmission)
3. Upload the award and any material you found helpful while applying
4. Optional- you may want to consider removing the last page of your biosketch that includes your MCAT and STEP1 score. It is up to you if you want to include that. On the backend, we will move these folders to the appropriate MTA specific folder.

APSA Things I wish I Knew Before Applying For My NRSA!

1. ISMMS MSTP F30/F31 folder. This contains prior successful applications and advice from MSTP students. The student grantees have agreed to share their applications with you; please respect their confidentiality and do not disseminate them: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SIpd3KmwvcPhQpnlaJUiN8g5IkowCiun

2. Apply for an F30 that funds both PhD and MD phases (if possible). Opt to apply for a mechanism that funds both phases rather than a grant that funds only the PhD phase. Different institutions differ on this so best to check with the program officer.

3. Take the Graduate School grant writing course (BSR3102 Principles of Scientific Proposals). This course will aim to inform and instruct students on the process of applying for a predoctoral fellowship. Students will learn the different funding mechanisms available to them for a fellowship and will ultimately prepare several components of the application with the intent of submission. The subject matter will include strategies for building a highly competitive application by thoroughly analyzing the scored review criteria: Fellowship Applicant; Sponsors, Collaborators, and Consultants; Training Potential; Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training; and Research Training Plan. It will also include strategies for converting a completed Thesis Proposal into the analogous documents for fellowship applications. The course will primarily focus on the application for an NRSA F30/31 award, but will be applicable for students targeting NIH F99, DoD, NSF, and other granting mechanisms. Homework assignments will aid in the preparation of a fellowship application and will, therefore, keep students on pace for the current submission cycle (December 8th in the Fall of 2021). Prerequisites: Successfully having passed your Thesis Proposal Exam with the intention to submit a fellowship application by the end of the semester.

   • Here’s what Michelle Tran said about it in preparation for her F30 submission:
     • “I would highly recommend the grants class that is offered to the graduate school. It is offered for students who have proposed their thesis successfully and who are planning to submit an F30/31 the same cycle as the class. I found it super helpful in guiding me through the process, along with upperclassmen MD/PhD advice/applications, and the MSTP student guide.
     • I know others in my MSTP class didn't join as they had reservations prior about keeping up with their research and the coursework, but found my experience to debunk that. The instructors were very nice and understanding and the class was meant to help guide us along rather than add extra work.
     • I think their step-by-step walkthrough of each section and what reviewers often look for was highly valuable. They mentioned key differences between the F30/31 and R01's and other grants, which our labmates and PI's are probably more familiar with
     • It was a really great way to get to know other PhD students outside of my MTA and their research. People were really generous with their energy in peer review, and I found their comments really valuable.

4. Ask for the maximum period possible. Dual degree students are allowed a total of six years of support on any NRSA training grant or fellowship. This includes the MSTP and T32 training grants. Round up to full years to avoid budget and timing complications. For example, if you are eligible for 3.5 years of support, request 4 years of support. The excess budget will be returned to NIH.

5. Ask for the maximum budget possible. The dollar amounts for stipend and institutional allowance are fixed; you should ask for the maximum allowable amounts per NIH guidelines. However, the tuition calculation is more complicated. You should propose a full 9-credit load for every PhD phase semester, even if you anticipate lower credit registration costs for some of them. Unused funds will be returned to the NIH. For fellowships that support both MD and PhD phases, you should propose MD tuition in the final two years of the budget.

6. Current tuition rates. Contact Osei (osei.tutu@mssm.edu) for the current tuition rates. Assume a 4% tuition increase per year. Sample budgets are included in the shared drive above.

7. Understanding the difference between T32 and F30/F31 funding. Indicate that the ISMMS MSTP T32 does not provide financial support for all phases of MD-PhD training, and that you do not have current funding from the ISMMS MSTP T32, so there is no question of overlap. This needs to be stated explicitly. We recommend that the mentor's letter of support clarify this issue of non-overlap, and it should also be stated in the budget justification section and/or wherever else is appropriate.

8. Training plan, research, and clinical activities. How to specify research vs. clinical activities for the years of training in the training plan section: In general, the reviewers want to see research training activity, so bring this out as the primary focus of the proposal, but it is OK to indicate how your clinical interests will tie in with your research goals. You don’t need to spend much time on describing clinical training, but you can mention it as a phase of your training. Don't miss the opportunity to indicate research in a year when it might be there. For example, if the training period will include a mixture of research and clinical periods (e.g. the end of your PhD and the beginning of MD3), then put down an appropriate mixture of research and clinical. You can also include a small amount of clinical time (~5%) during the PhD phase if you intend to do MSTP Clinical Tutorial (explain that this will be individualized and customized to link to your research field). Remember, for MD4 you might do research electives, and we recommend that you propose this as an attractive feature in the application (write in your training plan that you intend to do some research electives that year; don’t worry, you won’t be locked into this plan). If you propose this, you might put MD4, the last year of your training, as something like 60-70% clinical, 30-40% research.

MSTP Knowledge Nuggets, the F30/F31 Experience
Document link

Letters
Reference Letters vs. Letters of Support: What’s the Difference?

Links:
Reference Letters page
How to Apply – Application Guide page

Selecting a Referee

• At least three, but no more than five, reference letters are required.
• The letters should be from individuals not directly involved in the application, but who are familiar with the applicant’s qualifications, training, and interests.
• The sponsor/co-sponsor(s) of the application cannot be counted toward the three required references.
• Resubmission do not need to use the same list of referees, but do require new reference letters from all listed referees.
• Make sure you include a list of referees (including name, departmental affiliation, and institution) in the cover letter of the application so that the NIH staff will be aware of planned reference letter submissions.

Instructions to Provide to Referees
Fellows/candidates should provide their referees with the appropriate instructions. Remember to include your name as it is shown in your Commons account, your eRA username, and the number of the FOA to which you are applying.

Letters must be submitted directly to the eRA Commons here.

Instructions for Fellowship Applicant Referees

Reference Letter Submission Process

• Each FOA will indicate whether Reference Letters are required and, if so, how many.
• Referees must submit reference letters through the eRA Commons by the application due date.
  Note: Referees DO NOT need to login to eRA Commons to submit their letters.
• Referees will need to provide the following information with their reference letter:
• PI’s (fellow/candidate’s) eRA Commons user name
• PI’s first and last name as they appear on the PI’s eRA Commons account
• Number of the funding opportunity announcement to which you are applying
• Upon submission of the reference letters, the eRA Commons will send confirmation e-mails to both the referee and the fellow/candidate.
• The confirmation sent to the referee will include the mentee and applicant’s names, a confirmation number, and the date the letter was submitted.
• The confirmation sent to the fellow/candidate will include the referee’s name and the date the letter was submitted.
• The eRA Commons will link the reference letter up with the application.
• The fellow/candidate is responsible for reviewing the status of submitted reference letters and contacting referees to ensure that letters are submitted by the due date.
• The fellow/candidate may check the status of submitted letters by logging into their Commons account and accessing the “check status” screen for this application.
• While the fellow/candidate is able to check on the status of the submitted letters, the letters are confidential and the fellow/candidate will not have access to the letters themselves.

• Contact the eRA Service Desk if you need assistance submitting your reference letter.

• Notice of Award
  Please notify MSTP leadership when the grant is awarded, and please send a copy of your Notice of Award to Bianca and copy Osei Tutu at osei.tutu@mssm.edu.

• Stipend Bonus
  The MSTP provides a $2,000 annual stipend bonus to MSTP students who are awarded F30 fellowships that include funding for those years. The bonus is applied in each month for which the student’s fellowship provides funding.

• F30/F31/F31-Diversity Funding Opportunities
  There are two program announcements for F30 funding, one for students at institutions like ISMMS that have an MSTP T32 training grant, and one for students at institutions that do not. Because we have an MSTP T32, you can apply only to that one. There are also two program announcements for F31 funding, one that supports PhD training only (F31), and a diversity award that may support both PhD and MD training phases (F31-Diversity, see below). For program announcements and general information about the F awards, see the NIH F Kiosk. F30/31 applications must be submitted within 48 months from the time of matriculation as an MD-PhD student. In addition, over the total duration of F30 support, at least 50% of the award period must be devoted to full-time graduate research training leading to the doctoral research degree. Applications are accepted in three cycles per year, in April, August, and December. Because ISMMS MSTP students matriculate in July, the latest possible application cycle is April of PhD year 2.

MSTP letter
You’ll need a letter from the MSTP Director. Please complete this form and email Talia Swartz to request. Form

F31-DIVERSITY SPECIFIC INFORMATION
Students from diverse backgrounds (per the NIH’s definition) are eligible to apply for the F31-Diversity Award, formally known as the National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31-Diversity). The F31-Diversity has its own funding announcement/fund number separate from those of the F30 and F31 Awards.

Similar to the F30, MD/PhD students applying for the F31-Diversity Award are eligible to apply for funding for both graduate school and medical school years. The non-diversity F31 only supports graduate school years.

Most of the F31-Diversity application is the same as the F30 application; however, there are some additional requirements. These requirements are:

1. A letter from your institution stating your eligibility for the F31-Diversity. This can be written by the MSTP directors.
2. A document titled “Description of Candidate's Contribution to Program Goals,” which is a letter from your institution describing how your training will contribute to the diversity goals of your program and institution. This can be written by the MSTP directors.

Other F30/F31 items to include:

• Principles of Scientific Proposals (BSR3102) materials
• Centralized checklist of what we need to do
• Very very detailed.
• Contacts for Grants Admin (Departmental and GCO)
• GCO assigned administrators by department/division: link
• NOTE: the assigned GCO grants specialist for your F30/31 fellowship may not be the same as for your PI’s R01, so you will need to check with GCO
• A timeline of when to apply
• Examples of previous F30s
• By MTA, if possible
• Are we able to get comments with these?
• Explanation of differences between a thesis proposal and F application
• Tips from successful students
• Preparation of a RPPR progress report

Other grants

R01 Diversity Supplements

• Full funding for at least 3 years, potentially extendable (computer, yearly conferences $1500/travel, research budget)
• Focused on training --- grant cannot be outside of the scope of the R01 award, as it is intended to provide a training opportunity
• GREAT to apply for early when you enter lab as the funding last for the duration of the parental R01 award (3-4 years), and this gives you ample time to apply for an F-award without worry about funding for your training duration.

Departmental T32s

• Each department has them, most have between 2-4 slots for the grant per year.
• Applications typically go out in the summer/email each MTA director with information on how to find application
• Can apply for ones not in your department, each MTA has specific rules
• Generally, funding for insurance / stipend / small research amount for 2 years, re-application needed / status update
• Each have requirements for satisfaction and retention of grant – i.e. taking a certain course, participating in journal club, presenting WIP, etc. Be thoughtful about this, as if you are in another department but are required to take WIP/journal club/etc from a different department can be a lot of work.