Lessons for Success Application Instructions

The 2025 Lessons for Success conference is scheduled for Monday, April 7, through Wednesday, April 9, at the ASHA National Office in Rockville, Maryland. 

To apply, access the online application system during the application period (October 1 – December 1). Complete the online form, upload the following materials as PDF files, and submit the entire application by 11:59 p.m. EST, Sunday, December 1, 2024.

Page limits do not include references. Pages should be 12-point font and single-spaced with one-inch margins. All application materials must be uploaded as PDFs.

1. Cover Letter (limit 1 page) — Describe how your research career will benefit from participating in Lessons for Success and provide any further information you want reviewers to know regarding your career trajectory, grant status, or any special circumstances affecting your history.
2. Extramural research grant proposal — Your application must include a complete, extramural research grant proposal for which you had the primary role in conceptualizing and writing.

a. Your complete proposal must include all grant sections except for the budget or other sensitive financial information. If the proposal includes a biosketch that lists grades, please redact or black them out.

• • • If you are uploading an NIH proposal, include all sections (i.e., the abstract, specific aims, research plan, bibliography, facilities and other resources, narrative, biosketches for all key personnel, protection of human subjects, and the inclusion of women, minorities, and children). Submit any summary statement of reviewer critiques, if available.
    • If you are uploading a non-NIH proposal that did not require all these sections, include all sections that were required. The uploaded proposal must include—at a minimum—an abstract, the specific aims, and the research strategy.

b. The grant proposal must have already been submitted to an extramural agency or will be submitted before January 31, 2025

Reviewers will not use this grant in evaluating your application. Rather, if you are selected to attend, ASHA will share this grant with Lessons for Success faculty and attendees and will use it in didactic sessions. The grant might be selected to be critiqued in front of the group as part of a mock review or section analysis session. For training purposes, all grants will be reviewed following the NIH R-series criteria.

If I have completed multiple proposals, which one should I submit with my application? Please select a grant that you are comfortable sharing with others and hearing critiqued in front of the group. NIH proposals work particularly well within the conference format.

If you are selected to participate, you will have the opportunity to discuss the abstract and specific aims of an additional, in-preparation grant with your assigned Lessons for Success faculty member. 

1. PI Consent Form [PDF] (if applicable) — You are expected to submit a grant for which you had the primary role in conceptualizing and writing. However, if you are not the named or sole PI, you must submit a consent form signed by the PI. This form affirms that you were a major participant in the writing and development of the grant and gives ASHA permission to use the grant as conference material. Be sure to fill in your name and the name of the grant proposal before requesting a signature.
2. 5-Year Career Plan (limit 3 pages) — The 5-year career plan should provide an overview of your goals and the steps you will take to achieve those goals. The plan should include three sections: teaching, research, and service. The amount of effort devoted to each area and the nature of activities within each category should vary based on (a) the type of university that employs you and (b) your career stage. Predoctoral and postdoctoral students may include a section on research training, either in addition to the other components or instead of an irrelevant component. Please include only those components that are appropriate to your career stage. See career plan template [PDF].
3. Research Statement (limit 1 page) — The research statement should provide an overview of your research program (including its anticipated development) over the next 3–5 years. The statement should specify (a) the major goals, including theoretical framework, questions, and significance of your line of research; (b) the major methods you will use to address those goals; and (c) the funding sources you plan to target. Reviewers will evaluate your statement as part of the application; for those chosen to participate, the Research Statement will provide the assigned program faculty member with an overview of your research plans. Please include your name, education, current affiliation, and position at the top of the research statement. See research statement template [PDF].
4. Modified NIH Biosketch (limit 5 pages; per NIH format instructions, can be 11 point font with ½-inch margins) — Follow the Modified NIH Biosketch Instructions and Sample [PDF]. It is based on the NIH Biosketch (non-fellowship), with the following modifications:  
   • Sample biosketch is representative of an early-career stage researcher applying for a non-fellowship Research Grant (R series).
   • Personal statement justifies why you are well-suited to participate in Lessons for Success.
   • Biosketch contains sections that allow the inclusion of additional publications and research funding submissions.