R01 Countdown

R01 Countdown Program

Getting a NIH R01 or R21 grant application funded is a key aspect of promotion for many junior faculty members. R01 Countdown is a 15-week program that provides detailed, weekly small group feedback on junior faculty members’ NIH R-series grant submissions.

For more information on grantwriting workshops, contact us.

This intensive grant writing program has generated over $125M in NIH funding across 14 different NIH Institutes for junior faculty Principal Investigators to date. Program participants meet weekly as a small group with faculty peers and the Program Director for 2-hour sessions for 15 weeks (October to February). Initial sessions focus on mastering specific grantsmanship and scientific writing strategies, including via weekly homework assignments. Remaining sessions focus on detailed, constructive critiques of faculty grant submission drafts. Each week, 3-4 faculty members present their drafts for 30 minutes each, present their drafts 3-4 times during the 15-week program, and are expected to attend 75% of the 15 weekly sessions (i.e., 11 classes minimum). This program is open to faculty at the assistant and associate professor rank (UTL, NTRL, and UML). The application deadline is in August and 10 faculty are selected. Faculty who have submitted a R01 in the past, but have not yet been awarded and need to resubmit are prioritized. Women and faculty from racial/ethnic backgrounds underrepresented in science are particularly encouraged to apply. R01 Countdown handouts are available online: https://purl.stanford.edu/yy394gb6954

Michaela Kiernan, PhD

Dr. Kiernan is a Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and directs the R01 Countdown Program. Dr. Kiernan is the Principal Investigator of multiple NIH R01 grants examining the efficacy of behavioral obesity interventions, and has expertise in clinical and community research methods, including retention strategies for randomized trials. She received her PhD in Social Psychology from Yale University. Dr. Kiernan has served as an ad hoc member, Standing Member, and/or Co-Chair of multiple NIH study sections; taught highly recommended scientific writing workshops for OFDD for 10 years; mentored faculty fellows from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds for 6 years with the SOM Center of Excellence; and been awarded multiple Stanford divisional teaching and mentorship awards.