The SRA Symposium - College of Medicine

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a historically black university.
Table 2: Mentoring for Grant Funding - Examples of Specific Activities
• Information about grant opportunities
• Finding and providing copies of successful grants
• Planning or strategy meetings
• Providing written information about the institution and/or institutional
resources
• Nuts and bolts of grants: biosketches, other support, letters of support
• Assistance with budget preparation
• Review, comments, editing
These programs have provided a nidus for junior investigators in translational and patient-oriented
research and a forum within which mentoring by research administrators is taking place
through a variety of activities including seminars, formal presentations, and one-on-one mentoring.
Table 2 lists some of the specific one-on-one mentoring activities that take place between
research administrators and junior faculty that facilitate obtaining grant funding.
To evaluate the benefits of these services, we have conducted two assessments. The first was a
qualitative evaluation in which we asked junior faculty open-ended questions about the “benefits
of collaborative efforts between research administrators and junior faculty.” The second evaluation
consisted of a survey that asked junior faculty to score the importance of listed services for preparing
a grant.
Qualitative Evaluation of the Role of Research Administrators in Mentoring Junior Faculty
Written responses to an open-ended question identified many of the activities listed in Table 2 but
each individual respondent focused on just a subset.
“Working with [the Research Administrator] was fundamental in that she has a deep understanding
of several aspects of grantsmanship that are not frequently communicated by my research
peers and mentors. First, she provided me with information on funding opportunities that would
be most appropriate for my research interests and phase of my career. A second factor was her
knowledge on how I should structure the grant text to meet reviewers’ expectations. Above all,
she was able to simplify the concepts I was trying to explain in my proposal. And last, our weekly
meetings determined the pace at which I progressed towards completion. Having deadlines makes
all the difference and gives you a sense of accomplishment.” – RP
“When talking about mentoring, most people think automatically about the professional and
scientific guidance a new faculty person needs in order to get started on the right track. But my
academic mentor, [Dr X], knew that in addition, I needed to learn more about the process of how
to write grants. She encouraged me to seek guidance from our budget and grants office, where I
was fortunate to wind up working with [Ms Y]. [She] provided access to a wealth of information I
had previously been unaware of, and also suggested other people on campus and at the NIH who
could be helpful to me. She helped me to organize and prioritize tasks that needed to be completed
prior to grants submission, provided some gentle accountability for the most onerous tasks, and
even read the grant and provided feedback prior to submission. I still remember the first time I
met with [Ms Y]. My comment was, ‘the next deadline is June 1 and I’m not sure I can make it.’
[Ms Y’s] comment was, “Of course you can, and here’s how.” Leaving her office after our initial
meeting, I was convinced for the first time that I really would be able to get it done.
190 2005 Symposium Proceedings Book