The National Institutes of Health (NIH) invests more than $32 billion per year in biomedical research, making it the largest public funder of such research in the world.
The NIH reviews approximately 80,000 applications each year; approximately 20% of those receive funding.
An academic grant writer is a medical communicator who is hired for their medical writing or editing skills to support either an academic scientist or a department (typically within a research institution or university/school).
Grant writers and editors help to ensure that research grant proposals satisfy the funder’s guidelines and provide a clear, concise, evidence-based message about why the research should be funded.
One niche for medical writers is grant writing. Whether they are writing grant proposals to fund continuing medical education (CME) programs or to support biomedical research, grant writers are tasked with convincing funders that the project is needed now, and that their team is the best one to undertake the project on time and within budget.
Proposal writing combines persuasive writing skills and a thorough understanding of scientific literature on the topic of the proposal. This guide introduces medical writers to the essential questions all grant writers need to answer before starting a writing project.