Conversations with NIH Program Officials: Dr. LeShawndra Price | By Dr. Juliet Iwelunmor
In one word, how would you describe grant writing? Is grant writing science or salesmanship? How do graduate students contact program officials with their research ideas? What happens if these research ideas are not innovative enough? And if they do submit their grants, what should they do if it’s not reviewed or scored?
Such are a few of the questions grant writing raises. But they are critical questions, made more critical for doctoral students at the beginning of their grant writing journey. These questions also beg for answers and throughout this semester I have been blessed to have colleagues who have given themselves and their time to share a glimpse of their grant writing journey (I will do a proper reflection of their responses soon). Today we listened to Dr. LeShawndra Price.
I first met LeShawndra at a conference years ago when she was chairing a session at the annual Dissemination and Implementation Science Meeting. I asked one question, “What is sustainability to the NIH and how do researchers study this from the beginning?” She defined it and shared resources including the dissemination and implementation science mechanisms that allow researchers to explore these questions, naming and framing it as such from the beginning. Our exchange at the meeting was brief but truly life-changing and it allowed me to work towards claiming the space on how to sustain evidence-based interventions in low, middle income countries. As the years passed, I got to know LeShawndra better and the more I got to know her, the more I truly understood why program officials matter. Today, she was the first NIH program official guest speaker for my doctoral grant writing class and to say we were all filled with wisdom and knowledge is an understatement and I took notes.
To LeShawndra, one word to describe grant writing: “Challenging.” It includes multiple components, with lots of moving parts, but it’s a skill set that is challenging and can be developed. The key is to learn it, figure it out, put it in practice every time you write a grant. Is grant writing science or salesmanship? To her it’s both. It’s science in that every grant has a science-based component. But it’s also salesmanship. Truth is every grant writer is not in competition with another grant writer. Instead we are all in competition with ourselves. How we represent our ideas, the approach we take, all of that depends on how we communicate the science we are passionate about and reach out to program officials when we have great concepts.
How do we approach program officials especially as a graduate student? Honestly be persistent. Dr. Price shared that even if you send the first email and you get no response, send another one. And if there is still no response, send it again and end with a question too. The persistence will eventually pay off. What happens if the research ideas you have are not innovative enough? Find another one. Innovation is score driving component of NIH grant funding and even if you come up with a well written grant, if it has no innovation, it won’t be funded because there is nothing new to learn from the research. Of course temper expectations with innovative research and think of your innovation in terms of your approach or concepts or a methodology, that is ultimately feasible to accomplish. What happens when you submit your grant and you are not successful? Read the feedback then forget about it for a moment. Know that these feedbacks are not about you personally. Rather they are opportunities for you to capitalize on your ideas and submit them again. Even grants that fail are not failures per se, rather they are lessons in perseverance. If you keep pushing and putting the work in, ultimately you will get the outcome you want.
Just when we thought the class was coming to an end, as I was mindful of her time, LeShawndra amazed me and the class quite frankly. Knowing that everyone of these doctoral students may become an NIH funded researcher one day, she took the time to peel away the layers of their ideas, referring them to actual divisions or other program officials that matter. Today’s masterclass on how to engage in conversations with a program official was certainly gratifying. Through the individual conversations with all 13 of my students, I learnt firsthand why we need to nurture early career investigators. Their force, their life-giving ideas, their fears, even uncertainties with how to start their journey, is the reason why building relationships with program officials matter and LeShawndra is brilliantly leading the way.
To end the class, I asked for one advice to the students and she shared that grant writing is hard work, but rewarding. It’s rewarding when you see your impact with humanity. It’s rewarding when you persevere with your ideas. It’s rewarding when even as students, you stand up for what you believe in, and get it funded. Every student’s willingness to persevere, to push forward despite the odds is vital to the continuation of research and learning.
Toni Morrison once shared that “with education…there is a kind of progression. We move from data to information to knowledge to wisdom. But separating one from the other, being able to distinguish among and between them while respecting each category…is what serious education is about.” Dr. Price, you gave us sterling serious education on NIH grant writing and how to build relationships with program officials today and for that and on behalf of my eloquent grant writing class, we say thank you.
Program Officials Meeting Corner: LeShawndra Price, Ph.D.
Dr. Price is Chief of the Health Inequities and Global Health Branch within the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science (CTRIS) at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). In her role, she supports transdisciplinary programs of research that create scientific opportunities to address challenging and persistent health problem that increase health equities within the U.S. and globally.
Dr. Price can be reached through email at: lprice@mail.nih.gov
