NIH Cover Letters: Instructions & Template
The Center for Scientific Review at NIH strongly encourages PIs to include cover letters recommending a study section with their NIH proposals. This is a complex process that will require the PI to become very familiar with various aspects of both the funding opportunity and their own proposal.
If the PI is unsure which study section to recommend for their proposal, they should contact the AVP for Research; the AVP will work with them on study section assignment. Faculty in the College of Science and Engineering should contact the Assistant Dean of Research to identify a study section.
A cover letter identifying a study section must be completed at the seven business day proposal routing stage.
Refer to the Center for Scientific Review’s website for lists of Study Sections: http://public.csr.nih.gov/StudySections/Pages/default.aspx
The following page is a suggested template for PIs to use for the Cover Letter Component. It incorporates the suggested format and includes the most common types of information required for submissions. Please see instructions for the Cover Letter Component in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, Part I, Section 5.2 (p. I-92-93) for additional information that may be required for submissions, also listed below.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/SF424_RR_Guide_General_Adobe_VerB.pdf
· For late applications (see Late Application policy in Section 2.14), include specific information about the timing and nature of the cause of the delay.
· When submitting a Changed/Corrected Application after the submission date, a cover letter is required explaining the reason for the Changed/Corrected Application. If you already submitted a cover letter with a previous submission and are now submitting a Changed/Corrected Application, you must include all previous cover letter text in the revised cover letter attachment. The system does not retain any previously submitted cover letters until after an application is verified; therefore, you must repeat all information previously submitted in the cover letter as well as any additional information.
· Explanation of any subaward budget components that are not active for all periods of the proposed grant.
· Statement that you have attached any required agency approval documentation for the type of application submitted. This may include approval for applications $500,000 or more, approval for Conference Grant or Cooperative Agreement (R13 or U13), etc. Two types of approval documentation include: NIHIC approval for an application $500,000 or more and NIH institute approval for a Conference Grant or Cooperative Agreement application (R13 or U13). To attach the approval documents to this submission, please append those referenced documents to your Cover Letter File, and upload as one attachment.
[Pick the date]
NIH Center for Scientific Review
6701 Rockledge Drive
Room 1040-MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20817
PI: Last Name, First Name
Please find enclosed first competitive renewal [type of submission] of R01 HL020030 [Grant #], in response to PA-12-123 [Funding Opportunity (PA or RFA) title of the NIH initiative] ‘Researching Research with Research’ [Project / Application Title].
Please assign this application to the following:
Institutes/Centers
National Cancer Institute - NCI
National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research – NIDCR
Scientific Review Groups
Molecular Oncogenesis Study Section – MONC
Cancer Etiology Study Section – CE
Please do not assign this application to the following:
Scientific Review Groups
Cancer Genetics Study Section – CG
The reasons for this request are [provide a narrative explanation for the request(s)].
Individual(s) (e.g. competitors) who should not review this application, if applicable: None
The reasons for this request are [provide a narrative explanation for the request(s)].
Disciplines involved, if multi-disciplinary: single discipline.
Sincerely,
First Name Last Name
Principal Investigator