Online Forum for K Grant Writers
During your lunch hour, take this opportunity to participate in experiential learning during our three forums which will be held on Mondays in March. Make friends and receive help while getting work done. You’ll make progress on your application.
Our lunchtime forums will take place via Zoom from 12:00- 12:50pm on March 2, 16, & 30. Attend one or all three sessions which will focus on a topic or challenge you are likely to encounter along your K writing journey.
You, the registrants, will guide the content and our engagement as facilitators of the forum. We will start each session with warm-up questions and a sharing by our discussion leader who will contribute their experiences and recommendations. We will then work in small groups on activities related to the topic. Finally, we will debrief all together on progress, answer questions, and share thoughts on the progress you’ve made.
Spring 2026 Forum Discussion Leaders:
Marta Bianciardi, PhD, associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
Julie Lauffenburger, PhD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Who Should Attend:
Early-career investigators who are preparing an NIH K grant application. You should have a solid draft of your Specific Aims page and be planning to submit your application for either the June or October deadlines. These three forums are designed as a series to help participants prepare a Career Development Plan that is clearly integrated with their Research Plan.
Forum 1: Defining Your Skills Gap
Date: Monday, March 2
Time: 12:00-12:50pm
During your K Grant funding period you are expected to grow professionally into an independent investigator with a vision for your research career. This discussion will help define the skills gap: what you know how to do and what you must learn to do for the execution of the research proposed.
Session content:
- Generate a list of knowledge and skills needed to complete the research described on the Specific Aims page.
- Highlight the items in the list that represent a gap in current knowledge/skills.
- Engage in peer discussion about the learning and professional development activities that will help bridge the gaps identified.
Forum 2: Who is Part of Your Senior Team? Why?
Date: Monday, March 16
Time: 12:00-12:50pm
You have defined the skills you need and how they track with your research objectives and timeline. Now, make sure you have assembled a strong team, with all the people you need to guide your career development.
Session content:
- Discuss senior team member selection as part of grant-writing strategy.
- Identify gaps in the current senior team based on work proposed and skills needed.
- Create an “ask” email that sets clear expectations when inviting new members to the senior team.
Forum 3: Drafting Training Goals and Long-Term Career Goals
Date: Monday, March 30
Time: 12:00-12:50pm
The third and final forum will leverage work accomplished in the first two. Forum leaders will discuss several examples of training goals, the clear connection to research aims, and illustrate how to connect them both into a vision of your long-term research career.
Session content:
- Draft one to two training goals.
- Draft a timeline for skills development, organized by training goal.
- Articulate how the mentored research prepares them for the independent research career they envision.
Register for any or all three forum dates.