Thursdays, Feb. 12 to April 2
4-5:45 p.m.
In-person only; location TBA
Instructor: Audrey M. Huang, MA, PhD, director, science communications, and scientific editor, Center for Advanced Research Training & Innovation (CARTI)
The Specific Aims page is the most important — and often the most difficult to write — section of any National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. In just one page, it must convey the significance of your problem, the clarity of your hypothesis, the innovation of your approach, and the feasibility of your plan. Reviewers often form their strongest impressions here, making it the single best predictor of funding success.
This intensive eight-week, hands-on workshop will guide you step-by-step through the process of developing a polished, compelling, and review-ready Specific Aims page. You will learn how to frame a high-impact research problem, articulate persuasive rationale, write aims that are hypothesis-driven and cohesive, and avoid common pitfalls.
You will write on your own. Each class will be devoted to peer feedback, troubleshooting challenges, and tips on writing for clarity.
By the end of eight weeks, you will have:
- A completed, near-submission-ready NIH-style Specific Aims page with persuasive storytelling elements
- Strong narrative elements that communicate significance, innovation, and rigor
- Strategies for aligning aims with study design and long-term research trajectory
- Peer insight into what makes aims memorable — and likely fundable
- A better understanding of what reviewers seek
This course is ideal for researchers preparing their first major NIH application or seeking to strengthen a resubmission. No prior grant writing experience is required — just a strong project idea with refined central hypothesis, a conceptual model, and the willingness to write and rewrite.
Please note: This is an in-person workshop. A virtual option will not be available.
Please contact Dr. Audrey Huang at ahuang@som.umaryland.edu with any questions.