R01 Boot Camp

education

The R01 Boot Camp is a 9-month team-science and mentorship-focused program helping faculty members receive R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Senior faculty with strong track records of NIH funding guide groups of mentees through the proposal development process, while the team structure encourages peer support and feedback.

About the program

The Boot Camp has a dual purpose: to improve the College of Medicine’s R01 success rates and to cultivate community.

To promote these aims, we group participants into small teams of mentees and coaches and include team science training throughout the process.

THE R01 BOOT CAMP IS A NINE-MONTH PROGRAM OFFERING:

Specialized dual track training, one for mid-career or senior faculty and the other for junior faculty. Mentee participants are divided into tracks according to career stage and receive tailored mentoring appropriate to their needs and experience. Mentees may pursue single Principal Investigator projects or Multiple Principal Investigator projects.
Faculty Coaches with established track records of external funding and commitments to mentoring. Coaches meet with and advise their assigned mentee peer groups as well as communicate with mentees’ Department Chairs and the COM Office of Research.
Activities and resources to provide mentees with the tools and knowledge needed to write a successful R01 application (e.g., proposal writing seminar, mock review). In addition, mentees meet regularly with their coaching group (approximately once per month) during which they share and review proposal sections, provide constructive feedback to one another, and address problems and needs of mutual interest.
Internal Subject Matter Experts who counsel mentees on their research plans, help them prepare and present a Chalk Talk, and review proposal drafts.
External Subject Matter Experts who review mentees’ final proposals.
Mock NIH Study Section Review where mentees receive thoughtful critiques from esteemed UF faculty and insight into the NIH review process.

Program Directors:

MD-NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY

Elias Sayour MD, PhD

Stop Children's Cancer/Bonnie R. Freeman Professor for Pediatric Oncology Research; Assistant Dean

MD-PHARMACOLOGY – THERAPEUTICS

May Khanna Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Assistant Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

R01 Coaches 2025-26:

Mingyi Xie, PhD, Associate Professor, Biochemistry – Molecular Biology
Dejana Braithwaite, PhD, Professor and Division Chief of Population Health Sciences, Surgery – Population Health Sciences
Rajesh Khanna, PhD, Professor and Director for Center for Advanced Pain Therapeutics and Research, Pharmacology – Therapeutics
Ali Zarrinpar, MD, PhD, Professor, Surgery – General Transplant
Elias Sayour, MD, PhD, Professor and Assistant Dean, Neurological Surgery
Paramita Chakrabarty, PhD, Associate Professor, Neuroscience
Gail Keenan, PhD, RN, Professor, College of Nursing
Wesley E Bolch, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering – Biomedical Engineering
Laura Jacobsen, MD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics – Endocrinology
Anutosh Chakraborty, PhD, Professor, Cellular and Systems Pharmacology
Chenglong Li, PhD, Professor, Medicinal Chemistry
Debra Lyon, PhD, RN, Professor and Kirbo Endowded Chair, College of Nursing – Biobehavioral Nursing Science
Jennifer A Nichols, PhD, Associate Professor, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering – Biomedical Engineering
Shannon M Wallet, PhD, Chair and Professor, College of Dentistry – Oral Biology
Julie Maupin-Farlow, PhD, Professor, IFAS – Microbiology & Cell Science

Timeline for the 2026-27 Academic Year:

April 1, 2026 – Applications open
May 15, 2026 – Applications Due
Early September 2026 – Program Kick-Off Celebration
September 2026 – Team Science Workshop
October 2026 – Grant Writer’s Workshop
January 2027 – Human Design Study Studio
Late April/Early May 2027 – Mock Review
June 2027 – NIH submission deadline
June 2027 – Closing Ceremony
July 2027 – End of year coaches roundtable
Throughout the year – Self-directed interdisciplinary coaching group activities‎