Grant Writing Support

Pediatrics Grant Application Process

In an effort to streamline and improve our process and ensure accurate and timely submission, please note the following steps for all faculty/post-docs/trainees planning to submit a grant:

Greater than 45 days before due date: Send an email to your assigned Grants Contract Administrator (GCA) (see list below) immediately upon your decision to submit a grant application. Upon receipt of your email, your GCA will schedule a kickoff meeting at least 45 days prior the due date of your submission to the grant sponsor. [NOTE: if you do not provide your GCA sufficient advance notice for them to schedule this meeting (45 days prior), your submission will be at risk of not being reviewed or submitted.] – Please do not submit your SOM Intent to Submit form via myRESEARCHhome before you have your kickoff meeting with your GCA.

45 Days Before Due Date: GCA will schedule a kickoff meeting to go over details within the Intent to Submit form, including personnel/effort, need for subcontracts, budget, etc. The purpose of this meeting will be to ensure complete and timely submission of the SOM Intent to Submit form, the companion SOM Proposal Intake form, and provide a timeline of what items will be needed by whom to ensure overall a timely and high quality submission to ORA and then to the sponsor.

Additional Information

  • Information and valuable tips on myRESEARCHpath about preparing and submitting a grant at Duke [Learn more]
  • Details and FAQs about institutional deadlines and requirements [Learn more]
  • Research onboarding with the myRESEARCHnavigators team is required for any new faculty within 90 days of hire/faculty appointment AND for first time PIs on external awards. [Learn more]

Grant Timelines

The Department of Pediatrics has developed the following timeline to ensure submissions are complete and reviewed in a timely manner. The Department aims to submit the best possible proposals that have received internal review and comments prior to the first submission. Email Katie Misuraca with questions.

Grant Administrators

LeAnne Camp
919.684.4626
Portfolio: Allergy and Immunology, Cardiology, Hematology/Oncology, Rheumatology.

Byron Smith
919.681.0893
Portfolio: Critical Care Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Hospital Medicine, Medical Genetics (Gregory Crawford and Vandana Shashi only), Neonatology, General Pediatrics and Adolescents -Healthy Lifestyles, Obesity Research Center.

Feng Wang
919.620.5301
Portfolio: Nephrology, Neurology/Rehab, Infectious Diseases.

Tammy Smith
919.681.6025
Portfolio: Child Abuse and Neglect, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, GME, Med-Pediatrics, Office of Pediatric Education.

Michele Ragland
919.684.9750
Portfolio: Transplant and Cellular Therapy, Medical Genetics, Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Children's Health Discovery Initiative.

Marsha Newby
919.681.2412
Portfolio: Senior Grants and Contracts Manager.

[Please contact your divisional grant manager early and often to ensure compliance with institutional policies.]

Department Resources

Grant Reviews

Katherine Misuraca, PhD, provides overall guidance in format and organization as well as writing support for scientific premise and clarity of presentation to members of the Duke Department of Pediatrics. She also coordinates the internal peer reviews of grant applications (add link). Katherine received a PhD in molecular cancer biology in 2014 from Duke and has been providing grant writing support to Duke Pediatrics faculty since 2016. Her focus is on NIH R and K level submissions along with coordinating department-wide training grant submissions, however, time permitting she can assist with other types of grants, including foundation and internal submissions. If you would like to request assistance, please contact her well in advance of your due date (preferably at least 2 months for NIH grants, longer if you would like an internal peer review).

Katherine Misuraca, PhD
Director of Research Development
Department of Pediatrics
(919) 681-5877 office
katherine.misuraca@duke.edu  

Concept Reviews

To sustain and grow our existing research program, the Department of Pediatrics has implemented a set of intensive principles and processes for the internal peer review and submission of research grant applications including:

  • NIH R01 and K awards 
  • NIH R21, foundation grants, and smaller awards 

Please contact Katherine Misuraca at least 4 months prior to your NIH due date if you are interested, and see the Concept Review Policy below.

Department of Pediatrics K Club

The Department of Pediatrics K Club is open to all faculty members with primary appointments in Pediatrics and fellows who are submitting NIH K applications. Register online at least 7 months before your due date.

Statistical and Data Analysis Support for Grant Applications

The Department of Pediatrics Statistics and Data Science Support Core will assist in the development of statistical analysis sections for grant proposals. Support must be requested at least 2 months prior to the submission deadline and the grant budget must include support for faculty and staff statisticians. See link for more information and an intake form to request support.

Templates / Boilerplates / Resources

See Funder-specific resources and templates on myRESEARCH path.

Biosketches

Duke requires all PIs and key personnel to use the new Biosketch and other support forms effective May 25, 2021 (even though NIH requires it to be used after January 25, 2022). Contact for questions: Katherine Misuraca, PhD at katherine.misuraca@duke.edu.

Faculty Mentoring Committees

Visit the Pediatrics Faculty Development site for resources and links to the intranet for documents, SOPs and templates.

Department Contact

Vice Chair, Research
Christoph Hornik, MD, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Critical Care Medicine
Chief, Division of Quantitative Sciences
christoph.hornik@duke.edu

Additional Resources

The ASIST mission is to support the Duke research community by promoting a culture of scientific integrity, improving data management practices, developing educational materials, organizing outreach activities, and providing individual consultations. Website includes topics, such as Accountability in Research, LabArchives eResearch Notebook, Research Town Halls, Responsible Conduct of Research Programs, and Resources.

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This Duke University Medical Center & Archives guide provides information and links to additional resources to help you conduct a thorough literature search to discover ways to reduce, refine, or replace the use of USDA-regulated species in research.

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Duke University strongly affirms the essential role that research and education involving live animals has in the advancement of biological and medical knowledge. Further, Duke University acknowledges that animals used in biomedical research and education should receive the best possible care and treatment.

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DOCR supports the Clinical Research Units (CRUs) including all School of Medicine faculty, staff, and students by developing the navigation, tools, and training for the conduct of clinical research in which Duke serves as an investigative site.

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The Duke Office of Research Initiatives is a joint effort of the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, the School of Medicine and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute.  Our overarching goal is to facilitate effective research and collaborations for the Duke research community. We serve researchers from across Duke's schools, centers and institutes, and offer our services to all researchers -- from faculty to staff and trainees.

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  • myRESEARCHhome
    myRESEARCHhome provides a single location for research-related tasks and information, putting relevant applications, resources, and information - specific to you and your projects - at your fingertips. You can personalize it even further to save you time and effort. It includes reports and functions previously available in MyResearch, which was accessed in Duke@WORK. When you click on the MyResearch tab in Duke@WORK, you will be directed automatically to myRESEARCHhome. 

  • myRESEARCHpath 
    myRESEARCHpath was developed to serve as an institution-wide roadmap for navigating the research project life cycle across Duke University and Duke Health. It is intended to serve all personnel involved in the research process (including but not limited to faculty/PIs, scientific staff, grants and contracts administrators, students, and trainees) by integrating information from over 35 research support offices across the institution into one place. Processes, policies, and resources are curated and organized by life cycle stage and topic (as opposed to organizational unit) to allow researchers to find the information needed to facilitate their research. 

  • myRESEARCHnavigators
    myRESEARCHnavigators offers trained experts available by phone or email who can help identify relevant research resources, provide connections with collaborators, resolve systems issues, and answer questions about processes and best practices in performing research at Duke. You can ask them any research question! To contact this team of experts, call 919.684.2243 (Press 4 for Research) or email myresearchnavigators@duke.edu.

  • Researcher Consultations and Onboarding
    1:1 research consultation and onboarding sessions for researchers who are engaging in School of Medicine or health-related research activities. Each consultation is tailored to the specific portfolio and research-related plans of the researcher. We coordinate our efforts with departments and research units to ensure access to and efficiency in navigating the processes and central offices necessary to plan and start up research activities at Duke. Sessions typically take 60-90 minutes. [Note: Onboarding sessions are now REQUIRED for all new reserch faculty within 90 days of hire/faculty appointment and first time PIs on external awards.]

This University office, under the guidance of the Vice Provost for Research, oversees several administrative areas for research: the Grants, Contracts, & Compliance group; the Funding Opportunities group; the Office of Human Subjects Protection; and the Office of Export Controls.

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DOSI focuses on developing pragmatic approaches to support research integrity, including initiatives on education, oversight and accountability, for all of those at Duke University. The Advancing Scientific Integrity, Services and Training (ASIST) office oversees the Responsible Conduct of Research Program (RCR) and provides support to research teams to ensure research best practices. DOSI, together with other offices at Duke, are working collectively to develop a strong research culture rooted in transparency, rigor and reproducibility.

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EndNote is powerful reference management software designed to keep track of citations and format bibliographies. Virginia (Ginger) Carden, MLS in the DUMC Library at virginia.carden@duke.edu or 919.660.1184 is an expert with EndNote. She can ensure you are using the latest version and provide additional information and support as needed.

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The IRB ensures the protection of human research subjects by conducting scientific and ethical review of research studies while providing leadership and education for the research community.

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The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) oversees and directs Public Health Service (PHS) research integrity activities on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services with the exception of the regulatory research integrity activities of the Food and Drug Administration.

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OESO promotes a safe environment for the Duke Community while providing expertise in safety and health in a friendly, responsive and enthusiastic manner.

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The OASIS mission is to create and support a cohesive portfolio of technology services that purposefully and relentlessly support Duke University's research and medical education missions as well as Duke Health's Learning Health and Personalized Health visions.

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The Office of Audit, Risk and Compliance oversees compliance activities across Duke.

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The Office for Faculty Development offers an array of activities and programs intended to promote faculty success and well-being by offering tools needed to successfully navigate a career at Duke.  These programs include Write Winning Grant Proposals and Writing from the Reader’s Perspective (discussed above) among other leadership, professional development and networking events.

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The Office of Foundation Relations and Corporate Giving supports priority Duke Health initiatives by serving as the interface between Duke Health faculty programs and projects and the grant-making organizations, including foundations and corporations, that support basic science research, clinical research, medical and allied health education, and healthcare delivery.

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The OLV is responsible for patents, technology licenses and new venture development for Duke University, Duke University School of Medicine and Duke University Health System.

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The Office of Physician-Scientist Development (OPSD) in the Duke University School of Medicine assists trainees across the career spectrum (medical students, residents and fellows, and junior faculty) by providing information and programming on career development activities such as grant writing and funding opportunities.

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The Office of Regulatory Affairs and Quality provides guidance and support to academic investigators involved in development of or research with drugs, biologics, medical devices or tobacco products.

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The Office of Research Administration (ORA), is responsible for supporting investigators and administrators in the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing by managing externally sponsored research projects through the pre-award process.

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ORC Is responsible for research-related interactions with commercial entities including clinical trials, non-clinical sponsored research, material transfers, and other related endeavors. ORC also has intellectual property management responsibilities, particularly those arising from, or closely associated with, commercially sponsored research projects.

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The Office of Research Development at the Duke University School of Medicine provides services to teams of investigators and individual investigators to help ensure submission of high quality grant applications.  All School of Medicine faculty leading complex research proposals (i.e., those with multiple projects and/or cores such as NIH P and U grants) are eligible to use our services on a first-come, first-served basis. Individual investigators nominated by their department chair or division chief are also eligible for our services, as are recipients of School of Medicine Bridge Funding and faculty who have previously participated in a complex grant opportunity with us. If in doubt, please contact us – we aim to serve.  Originally launched by Nancy Andrews, then Dean of the Duke University Medical School, our services continue to be provided free of charge to Duke School of Medicine faculty as a service of Dean Mary Klotman.

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The Office of Research Informatics is a group of research technology professionals who provide biomedical informatics and research computing services to Duke researchers, allowing them to perform transformative research that will drive the research and educational goals of Duke Health.

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The Office for Research Mentoring aims to support the strong mentoring community within the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing.  Their team works to promote faculty success and well-being by offering tools needed to successfully navigate a career at Duke with programming designed to help junior faculty members write successful grant applications for an ever competitive funding environment. 

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The Office of Sponsored Programs performs the post-award administration of sponsored projects.

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The OTC is responsible for patents, technology licenses and new venture development for Duke University, Duke University School of Medicine and Duke University Health System.

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The PRMO provides billing support for research projects and establishes standards for clinical trial billing throughout the institution.

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REDCap is a mature, secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. Using REDCap's stream-lined process for rapidly developing projects, you may create and design projects using 1) the online method from your web browser using the Online Designer; and/or 2) the offline method by constructing a 'data dictionary' template file in Microsoft Excel, which can be later uploaded into REDCap. Both surveys and databases (or a mixture of the two) can be built using these methods.  If you require assistance or have any questions about REDCap, please contact DOCR REDCap Support at redcap-docr@duke.edu

The Qualtrics survey tool is available free for Duke users through a university-wide site license. Qualtrics users can send and track participation invitations and reminders; display survey results in real time, graphically and statistically; and export raw data in a variety of formats (to CSV, XML, HTML and SPSS, a popular statistical package available through OIT software license). If you need assistance logging in, sharing surveys, creating and managing groups, or changing survey ownership, please contact the OIT Service Desk at 919.684.2200.

This widely acclaimed seminar, presented by Grant Writers’ Seminars & Workshops LLC comprehensively addresses both practical and conceptual aspects that are important to the proposal-writing process. It is an all-day program, held once a year (typically in July or August) sponsored by the Office of Research Initiatives. Emphasis is given to such things as idea development, identification of the most appropriate granting agency, how to write for reviewers, and tips and strategies that are of proven value in presenting an applicant's case to reviewers, geared towards NIH format and review.

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Writing from the Reader's Perspective is a three-part seminar series presented by George D. Gopen, JD, PhD focusing on writing from the reader’s perspective. The series is based on the concept that in order to improve writing, it is first necessary to understand the process of reading. The ideas presented in this series of workshops have changed participants' writing habits permanently, often resulting in improved grant-writing and publication success.  The seminars are no longer routinely offered at Duke, however access to a series of videos may be possible; inquire with the Pediatrics Office for Faculty or Pediatric Research.