Table 3

Federal Organizational Research Training Grants and Related Support Available to Participating Faculty Members

Overview

This table discloses other training grants in which mentors are currently involved. The goal of this table is to 1) reveal other training grants on campus or with partner organizations that share similar or potentially conflicting focus areas, and 2) minimize overlapping mentorship appointments, to ensure faculty are not over-extended and will be available for meaningful mentorship.

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Overall Instructions

  • List currently active federal organizational training, career development, and research education grants (T-series grants, K12s, R25s, etc.) with overlapping mentors participating in both the proposed training grant and other existing training award.
    • Include pre-doc, post-doc, and combined programs regardless of the proposed program’s training stages (i.e., a post-doc only application should still include pre-doc only overlapping grants).
    • Omit grants that do not serve pre-docs, post-docs or short-term trainees (i.e., high school students, undergraduates, and post-baccalaureates).
  • If a training grant is multi-site, list information for each organization separately.
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Summarize Table 3 data in the Research Training Program Plan's narrative Background subsection. Highlight any restrictions in support (whether specific groups of trainees are being targeted) and explain areas of substantial overlap. 

Guidance by Column

  1. Grant Title. Full grant title
  2. Award Number. Full award number
  3. Project Period. Entire project period in the format MM/YYYY-MM/YYYY
  4. PD/PI. Last Name, First Name and Middle Initial
  5. Number of Predoctoral Positions Supported per Year. Total number of full-time pre-doc positions per year*
  6. Number of Postdoctoral Positions Supported per Year. Total number of full-time post-doc positions per year*
  7. Number of Short-Term Positions. Total number of short-term training positions*
  8. Number of Participating Faculty (Number Overlapping). List two numbers:
    1. The total number of mentors and PIs on the grant
    2. The number of mentors and PIs on the proposed training grant in parenthesis (considered overlapping faculty, this number will correspond to the names in column 9)
  9. Names of Overlapping Faculty. Only list last names of overlapping mentors and PIs (from Table 2)

*Calculating Totals Correctly: Sum columns 5 – 7 and enter the totals in bold in the Total row.

Helpful Hints

Avoid Overlap

  • The NIH funds scientifically distinct research. Thus, new proposals need to be significantly different than training awards on campus, even across difference NIH ICs (i.e. NCI, NIMGH, etc.). If your mentors are also mentors on other existing awards, review whether your grant’s focus area, submission cycle, and participating faculty are competing against similar programs already on campus.
  • If other grants fit one or more of the following descriptions, consider reducing overlapping faculty, shifting your grant’s scientific focus area, and/or applying on a different cycle or to a different agency. Speak with your Program Officer for additional guidance.
    • Training programs with similar titles, focus areas, or abstracts could indicate potential overlap in topic.
    • Training programs submitted to the same NIH IC in the same submission cycle may be reviewed negatively due to increased scrutiny and potential topic and mentor overlap.
    • Numerous overlapping faculty from other existing training programs on campus may indicate that topic is over-saturated or those mentors are over-extended. 
    • Note: If you are unsure of any potential overlap on campus, please contact GSUTraining@mednet.ucla.edu to discuss further.
  • While the number of grants is important, it is also important to consider the type of research experience mentors are providing. Pay special attention to the number of overlapping grants that your mentors support. If there are more than 3 - 4 grants, it may indicate lack of mentor availability.
  • Example: Column 8 shows that Dr. Aguilar has 6 overlapping grants so you decide to remove them from the grant. Your training grant is focused on Neuro-Urology, and both NINDS and NIDDK only allow T32 submissions on the May 25th deadline. Another neurology training grant on campus will be submitting for renewal this May, but there are no urology training grants competing during this cycle, so you decide to submit through NIDDK on the May cycle.  

Table 3 Video Walkthrough

Table 3 FAQs

Yes. Table 3 should report currently active federal organizational training, career development, and research education grants as long as they train pre-docs, post-docs, or both. You do not need to include training programs that support high school, undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or other students that do not fit into the pre- or post-doc training stage.

Each training program is different so there is no “one-size fits all” rule to determine what may or may not be considered a conflicting overlap. However, similar titles, focus areas, or abstracts may indicate potential topic overlap to reviewers. Therefore, PD/PIs should review each grant’s focus area carefully and communicate with the overlapping grants’ leadership to understand synergy opportunities and areas of delineation rather than conflicting overlap. Discuss these areas of synergy and distinction in the Background section of the Program Plan. 

Each training program is different so there is no “one-size fits all” rule to determine how many grants would “over-extend” any particular mentor. However, having a significant amount of overlapping faculty with another program may indicate that the topic is over-saturated or that applicable mentors do not have capacity to provide attentive mentorship. 

In addition to the number of affiliated grants, it is important to consider the type of research experience mentors are providing. PD/PIs can always justify mentors’ inclusion in the Program Faculty section of the Program Plan or adjust their participation to a committee or supervisory role if a mentor is overextended but still critical to the program.

Programs should fill a unique training focus area need on campus, and mentors should have adequate time and attention to provide meaningful experiences for their trainees. As such, consider: 

  • Reducing the number of overlapping faculty or adjusting their role on the grant.
  • Shifting the grant’s scientific focus area.
  • Appling to a different IC or deadline. 
  • Connecting with the Program Officer for guidance.
  • Contacting GSU for guidance at GSUTraining@mednet.ucla.edu. 

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