Types of Projects Supported

Consistent with its mission, SciCom’s top priority is the development and preparation of grant applications for extramural funding, most often to the National Institutes of Health but also to private and other governmental funding agencies. The applications range from individual investigator-initiated grants (e.g., NIH R and K series) to multi-investigator program project and center grants (e.g., NIH P, M, and U series). Editorial assistance is also available for manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals or books.

SciCom provides investigators with:

  • Editing
  • Research Administration
    • Project management services
    • Assistance with budgets and required forms
  • Mentoring
    • One-on-one consultations
    • Education

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Editing

SciCom’s top priority is to help investigators produce grant applications with a competitive edge by effectively and persuasively communicating the proposed research.

Services range from simple grammatical assistance (e.g., for an author whose native language is not English) to substantive rewriting and reorganization of text.

Editing is also available for manuscripts and other projects, including book chapters and white papers.

SciCom Editors

  • Help ensure that proposals (or manuscripts) adhere to application (or journal) guidelines and are responsive to the goals and review criteria of the funding agency and/or award mechanism
  • Edit for clarity, persuasiveness, and logical flow, particularly in scientific rationale and experimental design
    • Clarify and refine the presentation of hypotheses and specific aims
    • Evaluate document organization and suggest revisions to improve clarity and logical flow
    • Suggest structure of tables and figures to best communicate data
  • Apply principles of grantsmanship
  • Determine whether reviewers’ comments have been addressed
  • Provide concrete solutions for problems

 

Research Administration

Our Senior Research Administrator specializes in the preparation and submission of complex and large multi-investigator funding applications.

Project Management Services

Few aspiring program directors/principal investigators have the time and experience needed to undertake the writing and manage the assembly of a large multi-investigator project, such as an NIH program project (P01) or center grant (P20, P30, U01). To assist with these demands, SciCom offers the following project management services:

  • Attend and contribute to meetings for project planning and development
  • Create electronic templates for projects, cores, and other primary components according to the funding announcement to ensure consistency throughout the application
  • Establish and monitor a timeline for editing and submission of project components to meet institutional deadlines

Assistance with Budgets and Required Forms

Navigating the required documentation and institutional systems for preparing and submitting a grant application can be daunting, so SciCom offers support with these tasks. Our services include:

  • Advise on and assist with managing forms and supporting documentation (e.g., biosketches and letters of support)
  • Collect information for forms and create the documents
  • Assist investigators with budget development, preparation, and justification
  • Work with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, colleges, and departments on internal documentation and sign-offs

 

Mentoring

Working with SciCom staff, especially for new and early-stage investigators, can be a mentoring experience in research administration and improving skills for using language, formatting, and visuals to effectively communicate a message to the target audience.

Our services include:

  • Seminars and workshops on scientific writing and grantsmanship
  • One-on-one consultations with investigators to
    • Build logical and evidence-based arguments
    • Structure sections of a manuscript or grant application
    • Identify funding mechanisms and target journals
    • Build research budgets

 

Priorities for Scheduling Projects

All SciCom projects are prioritized on the following basis:

  • Type of project: grant proposals take priority over manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication
  • Type of grant: large center or program project grants have priority over individual investigators’ applications
  • Multiple projects from the same investigator: those requesting assistance for more than one application within a short time frame (2 to 4 weeks) should assume that a maximum of one project will be supported (subject to other SciCom priorities)

If SciCom is unable to meet the needs of multiple high-priority projects, requests for assistance will be evaluated and prioritized by institutional leaders on the basis of scientific merit, institutional priority, and potential for funding or publication.

 

How to Obtain Services

Contact SciCom to discuss services and deadlines. Please note that several months’ notice may be required for scheduling large, multidisciplinary projects, especially for standard NIH deadlines.

To request services, e-mail or call

Kerry L. Evans, PhD, ELS
Senior Editor
klevans@uams.edu

Phone Number: 501-526-6000 ext. 25296

Office Location:

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Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

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