R01 Countdown

The R01 Countdown has generated over $152M in first-time National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01s and other grants for 110+ SOM junior faculty over the past 10 years. The R01 Countdown provides detailed small group feedback on the Intro, Aims, and Research Strategy sections of R01 submissions.

A new R01 Countdown Program cohort starts each Fall and is open to SOM faculty at the assistant and associate professor rank in the UTL, NTLR, and UML lines. Women and faculty from racial/ethnic backgrounds underrepresented in science are especially encouraged to apply. Priority is given to: (1) faculty who already submitted an R01 and are actively working on a resubmission and (2) faculty who have already been awarded an R01 and are actively working on a second or new R01 grant submission. Nine faculty are selected.

The R01 Countdown Program is a time-intensive, high-yield commitment. Faculty meet for weekly classes as a small group for 15 weeks on Fridays from 1-3 pm on Zoom. Classes start in early October and end in mid-February. The first five weekly classes (early October to mid-November) are mandatory to attend and focus on mastering specific grantsmanship and scientific writing strategies. The remaining 10 classes consist of constructive critiques of faculty grant sections from faculty peers and the Director based on strategies from the first five classes. Each week, 3 faculty receive high-yield, 30-minute critiques and each faculty member presents 3+ grant sections for critique over the 15 weeks.  

Faculty are expected to attend 75% of the 15 weekly classes (i.e., 11 of 15 classes minimum) for the entire two hours each time. Each week, faculty also complete homework exercises outside of class and work on their own grant revisions. Faculty are encouraged to prioritize their time commitments during the 15 weeks so they can focus on their R01 submission, such as planning less conference travel during the 15 weeks. Typically, faculty whose R01s score well after the R01 Countdown Program have prioritized attending all classes and are able to quickly turn around in-depth revisions after the small group critiques. 

Junior faculty identify a Stanford research mentor (typically senior faculty) who will constructively critique the proposed science including impact, scope, hypotheses, and methods, and are willing to meet monthly over the 15 weeks. Junior faculty are encouraged to submit or resubmit for the following June/July NIH R01 deadlines, and all are expected to submit or resubmit by the following year’s October/November NIH R01 deadlines. 

The solicitation for applying to the R01 Countdown Program is released in late June, applications are due in late July, and faculty are notified in early August.

For additional background on the R01 Countdown Program, see How to Secure Competitive R01 Research Grants? Check Out This Program!

If investigators are not eligible for the R01 Countdown Program, but wish to improve their grant writing skills, please see the R01 Countdown Program [Handouts] available to investigators at Stanford and beyond: https://doi.org/10.25740/yy394gb6954. 
 

 For questions about the R01 Countdown Program not answered above, please contact us.

Thank you for your interest!