Kempner Grant Support
The Kempner Institute offers a variety of resources to help students and postdoctoral fellows develop grant proposals, including access to our grant support team, which offers one-on-one guidance and writing support.
The Kempner is committed to supporting career development for Kempner-funded students and fellows. A key part of this is support for grant applications. Successful grants, in addition to providing financial support, are essential in a student or postdoc’s transition to leading an independent lab or research group.
The Kempner Institute offers a variety of resources to help students and postdoctoral fellows develop grant proposals. These resources are designed to complement the resources already available within the candidate’s primary school or department.
Benefits of applying for a grant
Aside from career benefits related to receiving a grant, there may be potential financial benefits related to successful grant applications for students, research fellows and faculty. Please contact us for further information.
Grant Support Team
The Kempner Grant Support Team offers support, ranging from informal brainstorming sessions on possible grant proposal content to identifying target grant opportunities to support with drafting applications and creating a budget. See below for further details.
Eligibility
All Kempner graduate students, research fellows and institute investigators are eligible to utilize the services of the Grant Support Team, provided that:
- the award is submitted through Harvard
- if funded, the award will begin while the applicant is at Harvard
- the project is broadly in alignment with the Kempner mission
We encourage you to talk with us to identify grant opportunities that are a good fit for your career stage and interest. We can also help you make a plan for the best time to apply.
Who to contact
| Name | Services | |
| Yohan John | General inquiries & proposal support; Early stage conceptualization, brainstorming, penultimate stage proofreading. | yohan_john[at]harvard.edu |
| Anne Kimura | Reviewing funding terms & application requirements, drafting budget; interdepartmental coordination for faculty; Information about potential financial benefits | anne_kimura[at]harvard.edu |
| Lani O’Donnell | Interdepartmental coordination for graduate students | lani_odonnell[at]harvard.edu |
| Heidi Osterhout | Administrative coordination for research fellows | heidi_osterhout[at]harvard.edu |
Recommended timelines
Applicants are encouraged to keep track of application deadlines and plan in advance to allow for sufficient time to prepare a grant.
The following is a rough suggested timeline for grant development and drafting:
| 4-6 months prior to deadline [if any] | Basic proposal idea, brainstorming |
| 3-5 months prior to deadline | Identification of specific grant |
| 2-4 months prior to deadline | Rough draft of abstract and at least one specific hypothesis |
| 1-3 months prior to deadline | Complete draft for review by PI |
| 10 business* days prior to deadline | Requests for proofreading, help with application paperwork |
| 5 business* days prior to deadline | Internal Havard review of grant (OSP deadline) |
* Business days do not include official Harvard holidays or winter break.
Common Proposal Elements
Grant writing tips
Consult your mentor and/or principal investigator for project-specific feedback and discipline-based tips. They may also be able to show you earlier successful grant applications.
- Grants are typically more succinct than publications, but a thorough review of the literature is important. It shows that you have explored prior work that is relevant.
- Specific hypotheses are important: describe them in detail, along with criteria for deciding if the hypothesis has been verified.
- Alternative hypotheses are important. They show that you have considered at least a few strategies to adopt in the event that the primary hypotheses are not verified.
- Include captions with all figures.
Additional resources
Harvard research administration and resources
- SEAS Office of Research Administration
- FAS Office of Research Administration
- HMS Office of Research Administration
- Harvard Library ORCiD information
Funding agencies and CV resources
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- grants.gov
- NIH SciENcv page
- NIH Biosketch format and guidelines