Grant Support

There are many categories of National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF) proposals that now require descriptions of programs or mentoring practices that support our postdocs. We are happy to support faculty proposal preparation through individual consultations, reviewing proposal drafts, or writing letters of support.

Due to high volumes around common grant deadlines, please be advised that requests should be made at least two weeks prior to the grant submission deadline. All requests should be made through email to sch1@bu.edu.

Mentoring plans

Mentoring plans should cover how the faculty member and postdoctoral scholar will set goals for development during the postdoctoral period, the types of activities to achieve these goals and the process for evaluating progress.

Faculty are discouraged from using boilerplate language for their mentoring plan – this document should be tailored to reflect the resources available at Boston University and within their research groups (or the wider groups if part of a collaborative proposal). Below are resources to inform your writing – email us to set up a consultation or to have your draft plan reviewed.

PowerPoint from Developing Your Mentoring Plan workshop
Sample Mentoring Plan

Letters of support

PDPA routinely provides letters of support to proposals that need to describe resources for postdoctoral scholars in detail. We can either amend our standard letter of support with the details of your training program or collaborate on a specific letter that directly supports your program’s goals.

Other proposal sections – NIH T32

NIH training programs are moving toward trainee-centered outcomes rather than environment-based outcomes, and that means programs must integrate elements of professional development, career exploration, and program evaluation. PDPA can help new or existing T32 programs develop trainee-centered learning outcomes and identify the resources needed to support them.