GENERAL
Identify a question that you think is of interest and importance in the field of vertebrate developmental, stem or regenerative biology. It is important that the proposal topic not overlap with work that is being performed in either your rotation labs or thesis lab. Students should first get approval of their proposal topic from one of the CB207 faculty prior to writing their research proposal. All work submitted must reflect the student’s own effort and understanding. Students are expected to clearly distinguish their own ideas and knowledge from information derived from other sources, including published materials.
While a proposal needs to have some aspects that are safe, it is also crucial to establish that the project has the potential for novelty, interest and importance. such as:
(1) Asking a question that is fundamental. This can be somewhat hard to define, but is really critical. One factor is novelty: being able to distinguish the question in some important way from questions that have been answered before. Another way to look at it is to avoid 'cookie-cutter' proposals that could be worded in the same way as previous work, with only the names of the players changed. Another criterion is if the significance could be explained in an appealing way to a friend (who is not necessarily a scientist).
(2) Opening doors to future research.
(3) Choosing a young field, where there is a lot to be learned.
(4) Practical importance. For example understanding or curing a disease.
A given project doesn't necessarily have to fulfill all of these criteria, but the more the better, and I think it would always need one or more of them. Also, the Summary and Introduction should convey to the reader how the project fulfills criteria such as these. Not that these points have to be dealt with laboriously or individually, but these are elements that should clearly emerge for the reader while reading the Summary and Introduction.
Try to find a question, which can be addressed by one or more specific and actionable hypotheses that you propose to test. Two or three Specific Aims can then be used to specifically address the larger question. The description of these Specific Aims should include one or more hypotheses that will be tested by your experiments. For your proposed studies, you are free to use any reagents available in the literature as starting material, but you should not invent reagents that do not exist (plasmids, antibodies, etc.). Try to present an "hypothesis-driven" proposal. Although your experiments can include unbiased approaches (also known as ‘fishing expeditions') such as proteomic or -omic analyses, this would rarely be sufficient by itself in such an "hypothesis-driven" proposal; and for this type of experiment it is particularly important to provide a clear justification of the value of the approach and the anticipated outcomes. The overall scale of experiments in the proposal should correspond roughly to one good paper.
Please do not select topics that relate directly to work going on in your thesis lab or labs in which you have rotated.
WRITTEN PROPOSAL
Total length of 5-7 pages double-spaced total for sections I-V (not more).
On the face page, list which CB207 faculty member approved your proposal topic; the labs in which you have rotated; your current thesis lab (if applicable) as well as your email address.
Divide your proposal into the following sections.
I. Title
Make the title as short and descriptive as possible.
II. Summary (1/3 - 1/2 page)
Write a short paragraph that describes the developmental topic (convey its broad context and importance), the question or gap in knowledge that you will be addressing, your hypotheses, models, the experimental approach, and, what you hope to learn. It is well worth the effort to write a clear and concise summary.
III. Background (1- 2 pages)
Introduce the system. Begin by conveying the broad context and importance of the question. Outline previous research in the field, including background information necessary to understand the proposal. Define your question, including any models or hypotheses. The introduction should communicate why the question is important and why the system you are proposing to use is appropriate (e.g. special experimental advantages, or it might be technically difficult but very interesting). Indicate what you hope to learn and indicate the implications and importance of your work.
IV. Specific Aims (1/3 - 1/2 page)
State your Specific Aims, including hypotheses that will be tested by your experiments.
V. Experimental approach(es) (about 2 - 3 pages)
Divide your experimental section with subheadings that address the various aims that you wish to investigate. Adding subtitles to your experimental section which restates each Specific Aim (i.e., Aim 1. "….."; Aim 2"…."; Aim 3."….") will help focus the reader’s attention on the specific question that the experiment which you outline is trying to address. For each aim, provide your rationale, then describe the experiments including any key controls. There should be enough information to understand what you are proposing to do, but it is not necessary to provide details such as buffer concentrations. Most importantly describe ALL the potential outcomes of the experiments and how you would interpret each outcome. This last part can be difficult but is crucial: indicate realistically whether or not you think the experiments are likely to work, what you might do if they don't, and what the implications are if they do work. Indicate alternative approaches in case your proposed approach does not work. It is fine to have multiple approaches but you must prioritize them.
VI. List of references
Include titles of papers. Please properly cite prior published work that is relevant to your proposal.
VII. Figures
The addition of one or more graphics (in addition to the 5-7 pages of text) can greatly improve clarity and we would strongly recommend this. Diagrams or other illustrations may help to summarize the experimental system, outline potential experimental outcomes, or describe overall models.
PRESENTATION
Limit your talk to 20 min. Keeping to the time limit is critical and good practice for your future scientific seminars. When a talk goes overtime, you will lose people's attention, no matter how good it is, whereas it is virtually unheard-of for anyone to complain that a research talk was too short. Your presentation will take place on Zoom, and should have graphics delivered in a powerpoint format to best convey what your proposal is about.