R01 Boot Camp

R01 Boot Camp

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Internal Subject Matter Experts who counsel mentees on their research plans, help them prepare and present a Chalk Talk, and review proposal drafts.
5. External Subject Matter Experts who review mentees’ final proposals.
6. Mock NIH Study Section Review where mentees receive thoughtful critiques from esteemed UF faculty and insight into the NIH review process.

2024-2025 Program Directors:

Department: MD-NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY

Elias Sayour MD, PhD

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

Department: MD-PHARMACOLOGY / THERAPEUTICS

May Khanna Ph.D.

Assistant Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship & Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics