1. NSF Career Workshop Structuring the Proposal Elisa E. Konofagou, Ph.D. NSF-Career awarded – NSF-BET Assistant Professor Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology Director, Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory 27 March 2008

2. A few pieces of advice that worked for me Selection of topic Structure of the proposal Serving on the NSF proposal committee Approaching the NSF director

3. Selection of the topic “Hot” in your field Broad scope that several people (i.e., reviewers) of different background can grasp Do not work on something from scratch Work on an (unsuccessful) proposal that you have previously received comments on If possible, show that you received awards on this (not large grants though)

4. My topic – molecular delivery using ultrasound Choi JJ et al. Phys. Med. Biol. 52: 5509-5530, 2007.

5. 0.67 MPa and 25 uL Optison ™ 90 minutes after sonication 13 min post-gadolinium 39 min post-gadolinium 65 min post-gadolinium 159 min post-gadolinium pre-gadolinium Normalized MRI IP gadolinium injection Choi JJ et al. Phys. Med. Biol. 52: 5509-5530, 2007. Molecular Delivery Using Ultrasound

6. Structure of the Proposal Do NOT write it as a standard NIH or NSF proposal It should be a “vision” project, not an incremental of basic science project Both “research” and “education” parts should be well developed with underrepresented minorities included.

7. Proposed structure A. Objectives And Significance Of Integrated Research And Education B. Career Development Plan –Project A Introduction State of the art PI’s initial work on the subject Proposed work

8. Proposed structure B. Career Development Plan (continued) –Project B Introduction State of the art PI’s initial work on the subject Proposed work –Project C Introduction State of the art PI’s initial work on the subject Proposed work

9. Proposed structure B. Career Development Plan (continued) –Project D (Education) Introduction State of the art PI’s initial work on the subject Proposed work C. Evaluation of Research and Education

10. Project summary- most important! Project summary is the most important part of the proposal - all reviewers will read it. Intellectual merit as important as broader impact – NSF instructions to reviewers Broader impact- should be read by your mother (or, grandmother!) and she should understand and get excited about funding it!

11. Serving on the NSF proposal committee If you can, volunteer to serve on any NSF committee Eye opener for what counts in a proposal – you will be surprised.

12. Approaching the NSF director Very important that the NSF director knows of you and/or your work Keep an eye out for NSF workshops as part of conferences you attend Invite the NSF director to your university and department for a lecture Meet the director during your serving on an NSF panel

13. Most important! Keep positive Don’t give up after unsuccessful tries Chances of success increase with number of tries BEST OF LUCK!!!