1. amymarkowitz@gmail.com 415-307-0391
The NIH Biosketch
UZ-UCSF CTU
Writer’s Workshop
July 2017
Amy J. Markowitz, JD
Applying for a grant is your written promise to a funder that you are who you say you are,
that you can do what you say you can do,
that you can do it on time and on budget,
that you are clean in thought word and deed,
and can do it all in a bathing suit and high heels, while twirling a baton.

2. The Personal Statement / NEW Biographical Sketch
T = 5 pages; SciENcv tool auto-template
Personal Statement = 300 words
why your experience/ qualifications particularly suit you to your role (e.g., PD/PI, mentor):
Proposal Goal = 1-2 sentences; overview of expected accomplishments
Relevant Experience = academic, administrative, research, mentoring experience
Leadership Qualifications = scientific and personnel management; manage, decide, and set priorities; communication skills
OPTIONAL: briefly describe family care responsibilities, illness, disability, active duty military service that may have affected your scientific advancement or productivity. 
RESOURCE:
convey information about the qualifications, productivity, and the role of the personnel involved in the proposed project.  This information is available to peer reviewers as well as NIH extramural program and grants management officials.    Information in the Biosketch is factored into the overall merit and technical rating for each grant application.   
Proposal Goal. This would be a brief, one-two sentence overview of what the proposal is trying to accomplish in big picture terms. Remind the reviewers what your proposal target is before you persuade them that you can reach that target.
Relevant Experiences. As you write this paragraph, lift up the different types of experiences you have had, e.g., academic experience, administrative experience, research experience, mentoring experience, research experience.
Leadership Qualification. In this section, you describe why your relevant experiences qualify you for your role in the project. For example, if you were to be the Principal Investigator (PI) in a project, you might indicate that your prior experiences form a solid foundation to assume the PI role because you have developed administrative skills essential to manage large scale projects that also require a broad range of people skills. You want to point out that you have the ability to manage, decide, and set priorities. Your past experiences have shown that you accept responsibility and carry out action plans. Your communication skills motivate others to accept responsibility and achieve. Use your relevant experiences to show how those developed skills transfer to essential leadership qualifications.

3. The Personal Statement / NEW Biographical Sketch
Describe up to 5 contributions to science
Historical background that frames your research
In early career - your specific contribution to other’s work
Limit peer-reviewed publications to 4 relevant to each contribution
In general, reviewers base their expectations for contributions based on the seniority of the person filling out the biosketch. A scientist with one publication may want to summarize the key finding of the paper and its importance in a short contribution. Scientists with no publications may wish to provide a contribution describing their efforts on other peoples’ papers and projects (e.g., I used this method, I conducted the literature review for this paper, I care for all the animals in this lab, etc.). If a new scientist has no actual research or thesis experience, they might just want to list one contribution about their training to date. You might want to consult with your colleagues who serve as reviewers in your area of science.

4. Update to Biosketch Instructions/Format (NOT-OD-16-004)
URL for publication list is optional; must be to a government website (.gov) e.g., My Bibliography.
Allows publications (peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed) and research products to be cited in both personal statement and contributions to science
Research products = conference proceedings e.g., meeting abstracts, posters, or other presentations
Manuscripts that have not yet been accepted for publication can be mentioned in narrative sections, but cannot be cited as a citation
NO graphics, figures and tables
Removes requirement that past 3 years of research support be listed in order of relevance
Option to add other names used to author research products in section A