DESCRIPTION
The goal of this session is to provide early career investigators (including research and clinical junior faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and students) interested in nutrition research with fundamental skills related to developing a relevant research question and methodology leading to successful grant proposal submissions for both institutional and extra-mural funding.

This session aims to encourage research endeavors among ASPEN members by providing guidance to improve grant writing skills, increase familiarity with funding opportunities and to understand the peer review process. The speakers and moderators will provide practical advice for addressing effective grant writing strategies. Both early career and established investigators that have previously received grant funding (and rejections) within ASPEN and officials from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will participate.

The inaugural session, presented at ASPEN 2021, focused on guiding attendees through the NIH peer-review process and improving the specific aims page of an application. This session will focus on the development of a successful research strategy and training plan. Discussions will center around how to: 1) emphasize the significance and novelty of the proposal, 2) present the preliminary data when required by the application announcement, and 3) develop a comprehensive training plan for early career individuals.

Investigators who would like to apply for funding should attend this session to improve their grant writing skills. Attendees will also have a unique opportunity to interact with established investigators and network with other early career investigators, ultimately promoting the development of potential future collaborations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Highlight the significance and novelty of a research hypothesis in a grant application
Identify successful strategies to improve the research plan of a grant application
Write a training plan for a career development grant

FACULTY AND TOPICS
Is Your Proposal Significant And Novel?
Mary Evans, PhD, RD, Program Director, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Preliminary Data: When Is It Enough?
Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, CCSH, FAHA, Associate Professor of Nutritional Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY

Training Plan: How To Balance Theoretical WithPractical Learning
Hassan Dashti, PhD, RD, Instructor, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

MODERATORS
Todd Rice, MD, MSCI, Vice President for Clinical Trial Innovation and Operations, Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research; Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN