don’t want to micromanage, and you don’t want to be too hands-off, giving no direction or timeline. It’s an acquired skill, and having some role models or mentors helps with that.”
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September 2024Carrie Nieman, MD, MPH, associate professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said the process should also begin with getting the Institutional Review Board application in order and submitted and then mapping out the manuscripts you plan to submit and discussing authorship with collaborators early in the process. “Prioritize protocol and recruitment papers as materials that can be published prior to trial completion,” she said.
Dr. Nieman, who co-leads two R01-funded studies on addressing hearing loss, advised engaging a range of stakeholders in the planning process, ranging from patients to community members and policymakers, to review your measures and ensure you are capturing meaningful outcomes that position the trial to have the greatest impact. Other key priorities include strategizing to diversify your research portfolio and developing good time management practices.
While R01 grants may be considered the “coin of the kingdom,” they are not the only path to a successful research career. Other grant mechanisms like U01s and R21s can provide valuable opportunities, as Dr. Bush discovered in his own journey.
“There are so many different research funding mechanisms and grant opportunities that can support researchers,” he said, likening diversifying a research portfolio to protect the financial security of your lab to diversifying your personal financial portfolio.
Dr. Bush has a U01 with co-PI Susan D. Emmett, MD, MPH, an otolaryngologist at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., focused on the transformation of school-based hearing healthcare for children in rural communities. He also received an R21/R33 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to promote better access to hearing healthcare for adults. “This funding mechanism supports researchers conducting exploratory work in the R21 phase, and then facilitates the study of a clinical intervention in the R33 phase,” he said. “That was a specific mechanism that allowed us to expand our research to address access and affordability of rural adult hearing healthcare.”
Dr. Bush recommends signing up for NIH funding opportunity announcement emails at NIH.gov.
Ultimately, getting an R01 funded involves passion, perseverance, and a strong support system to help during the tough times.
“As otolaryngologists, the path for clinician–scientists can be difficult and can feel lonely,” Dr. Nieman said. “Wherever you are along that path, from just starting to well into the grind that is the funding cycle, know you are not alone. We serve an invaluable role in our departments and in our field, advancing what is known, what we offer our patients, and how we deliver care.”
Renée Bacher is a freelance medical writer based in Louisiana.