The Cardinal Rule of Biographical Sketch Personal Statements

Although the personal statement section of the biosketch is still relatively new, I believe there is one simple rule that will help to ensure your statement is helpful to your application.  The rule is:
Your personal statement should NOT be a summary of everything that comes after it in the biosketch document.
It may seem intuitive to use the first paragraph on the page to provide an overview of what is to follow.  After all, this is what is expected of you in other sections of the proposal.  However, you are missing a serious opportunity to sell yourself if you only reiterate your degrees and past grant awards.  Reviewers should come away from your personal statement feeling as though they understand you as a scientist - your motivations, the questions that drive your passions, and the expertise you offer that makes you the perfect person for this project.  A list of your degrees will not serve this purpose.  Take a lesson from some of the more aggressive infomercials on television, and sell yourself in a way that is convincing and persuasive.  Here is some inspiration from Pajama Jeans:

If they can sell thousands of pairs of ridiculous looking pajama pants that look like jeans, you can certainly sell yourself as an accomplished and capable scientist.

I Want to Be the Cristiano Ronaldo of Grant Proposals

In case you were wondering why all U.S. soccer fans collectively uttered curse words at around 7:45 yesterday, Portugal scored in the last minute of the game to tie the U.S. 2-2 and stay alive in the World Cup.  The goal was made possible by a beautiful assist from Cristiano Ronaldo, who was previously rated FIFA World Player of the Year and is known for having one of the most expensive soccer contracts worldwide. 

When it comes to grant proposals, a lot can be learned from Ronaldo.  His style of play is consistent and calculated.  His presentation style is impeccable.  He is reliable, and can be counted on to get the job done.  Even if it takes the whole game, he will take his time and come through with perfection for the win.  Despite knowing his value, he is still in there working hard and getting dirty, just like all of the newer and younger players.  These analogies can all be applied to writing your grant proposals. 

World Cup Soccer = science at its finest

OK, when I mean "at its finest", I am not talking about the reported good looks of the Italian team.  Rather, I am referring to all of the recent scientific discoveries surrounding soccer.  For example, one study conducted by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, examined soccer players and assessed the impact of heading the ball.  The researchers found changes in the white matter of the brains of these soccer players that was consistent with people who had suffered traumatic brain injuries.  Perhaps, like American football, this study will someday lead to a requirement for soccer players to wear helmets.  Another study, led by Harvard University scientists, examined the most common diseases in Brazil, in an effort to provide a guide for clinicians and visitors to the country for the 2014 World Cup.  More interesting science related to soccer and the World Cup can be found here. 

Font does matter

It seems that every so often, I encounter someone who insists on using a font in NIH grant proposals that is not approved by NIH.  People tend to get hooked on certain fonts, and asking them to use a different font is like asking them to write in Greek.  Why does font matter?  From a reviewer perspective, the fonts that are allowed by NIH have been chosen to be easier to read and more uniform than others.  Could you imagine having to read an entire research plan that looks like this?

So, which fonts does NIH allow?  There are only 4 to choose from, specified in the PHS 398 guide. These include:

• Palatino
• Georgia
• Arial
• Helvetica

No matter which one you choose, the size needs to be 11 point or greater.  If you try to cheat and use 10.9 to squeeze in a few extra words, you run the risk of your proposal being rejected for not meeting the formatting requirements.

What does that "Status" tab mean in the era commons?

This video does a great job explaining what the Status tab is from the PI perspective.  If you are working on an R01 resubmission for the July 5th NIH deadline, this will help you understand how to find your previous submission so you can make sure to adequately address all of the reviewer comments.