Contacting your NIH Program Officer (PO)
After you have figured out which FOA to apply to, verified your eligibility, and decided which institute to apply to, the next step is to contact your target institute to verify their institute is a good fit for your proposal. The “Program Officer” (PO) is your main NIH point of contact for questions about the fellowship. Each institute or center has one or more Program Officers whose job it is to talk to scientists who are seeking funding from that agency.
The Program Officer can provide guidance on:
- Whether your project fits the institute’s mission and priorities
- Tips for strengthening your application
- Clarifying fellowship requirements
There are several ways to identify your PO:
- Check the FOA:
- In Section VII: Agency Contacts, there is a link to a table that has the name and contact information for the “Scientific/Research Contact” at each institute; this is the Program Officer.
- In Section VII: Agency Contacts, there is a link to a table that has the name and contact information for the “Scientific/Research Contact” at each institute; this is the Program Officer.
- Use the NIH RePORTER “Matchmaker” Tool:
- If you are not sure which institute fits, you can use the Matchmaker tool to paste in your Specific Aims or abstract. This suggests the Institute and shows Program Contact information for similarly funded grants.
- If you are not sure which institute fits, you can use the Matchmaker tool to paste in your Specific Aims or abstract. This suggests the Institute and shows Program Contact information for similarly funded grants.
- Ask your advisor.
- Your PI, or even lab mates, may have had experience with a particular institute and can point you towards the right PO.
- If in doubt, email the general FOA contact:
- If multiple POs are listed, or you are unsure who to reach out to, you can send a short email to the general FOA contact. They can redirect you to the right person.
Tips for contacting your PO:
- Contact them via email first. (An example email is available here.) If you have a complicated question(s), summarize it succinctly and request a phone call.
- Attach a draft of your specific aims (ideally) or a short research summary to the first email you send to the PO. The importance of your work and relevance to the institute should be clear. Your aims or summary should be outlined well enough for the PO to understand your research goals, but they do not need to be final.
- Discuss your plans to contact the PO with your advisor. They may want to be involved in the call or copied on the email, and they should agree with the aims you want to send to the PO.
- Be professional and concise. Include your career stage and the funding opportunity number in your email.
- Ask specific questions about your project fit, eligibility, or institute priorities. Be sure to read the FOA to avoid asking questions already addressed.
- After your conversation, send a thank you email summarizing the key points discussed.
Click here to go back to the main Fellowship Project Management blog series.