Research Development

Sharing the secrets of research funding success

The Research Development team is a resource of the Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics. Our primary focus is to provide research development/proposal development support to faculty within the SCSBMB and the departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, and Pharmacology & Toxicology. And it pays to work with us. It pays well.

The most recent stats indicate that UTMB investigators who work with us are awarded ~250% more grant money compared to those who do not work with us.

We provide strategic, proactive, catalytic, and capacity-building services designed to facilitate individual faculty members, teams of researchers and central administrations in attracting extramural research funding, creating relationships, and developing and implementing strategies that increase institutional competitiveness. We provide technical and professional support to faculty in writing research proposals. While faculty are encouraged to work with Research Development staff on any and all proposals, the level of our involvement in the proposal process varies widely based on the needs of the individual faculty and/or proposal and by the lead time provided. At a minimum, Research Development staff attend all faculty Chalk Talks/Research Concepts presentations and provide feedback as appropriate. Our services are meant to supplement, not replace, faculty mentoring. Common levels of service are described in more detail on our Services page.

Let us help you get funded!

The SCSBMB Research Development Team is here to help you get funded. We have extensive expertise and experience in all aspects of grant writing as well as the scientific knowledge base to really help guide you in mapping your research goals and targeting the funding agencies that would serve you best.

Catherine Sampson, PhD, Research Development Spec II
Catherine Sampson graduated in December 2014 from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with a Bachelors of Science degree in Molecular Biology. In the Fall of 2015, Catherine began her graduate studies at the University of Texas Medical Branch in the Pharmacology and Toxicology graduate program. Catherine completed her Ph.D in the laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Hommel located the UTMBs’ Center for Addiction Research (CAR). Her work focused on uncovering the G protein coupling of the Neuromedin U Receptor 2 and the role of its’ endogenous ligand, Neuromedin U, in obesity and the consumption of obesogenic foods. Catherine successfully defended her dissertation in August 2020 and accepted a postdoctoral training position in the laboratories of Dr. Michael Kinsky and Dr. George Kramer in the department of Anesthesiology. This postdoctoral fellowship not only allowed Catherine to expand her knowledge outside of her graduate work, but it also provided Catherine with the opportunity to plan and conduct clinical trials. Since beginning her time at UTMB, Catherine has aimed to settle into a career in which she can help other scientists advance their research through grants developments. Catherine was born and raised in Santa Fe, Texas and is an active member of the community. She enjoys spending time with her family, watching baseball (Go Astros!), and playing with her dog. E-mail Catherine Sampson.

Following, are the services we offer, and more information can be found at the included links. Please keep in mind that simultaneous work on drafts from multiple PIs is built into our estimated turn-around times. Please Note: We do not provide administrative grant support. Work with your departmental administrative staff to get everything to OSP by the 10-working day deadline.

• Grantsmanship and Limited Scientific Review - The most comprehensive level of service
• Basic Proofreading, Formatting and Administrative Review
• Post Submission Review and Consultation
• Guidance on funding trends and federal, state, and UTMB policy changes
• Guidance on communicating with program officers for budget negotiations, plans for resubmissions, and/or responding to reviewers
• Coordination of multi-investigator, multi-institution program project style grant proposals
• Assisting in submission of supplements and training fellowships (working with faculty, post-doctorates, and/or graduate students)
• Other research development, proposal-related services as identified. (If you do not see a service listed, call or e-mail us and we may be able to help.)

FAQ: Do my drafts need to be "near final" when I give them to you? NO! In fact, we prefer really rough drafts. We don't even need all the pieces at the same time. If you have one part scribbled on a Post-it note, go ahead and give it to us. If you spend a lot of time polishing before you give us a draft, you are not really allowing us to do our job. Our goal is to free up your valuable time. Get a rough draft down then let us work with it.

FAQ: What if I miss the suggested timeline? Will you still work with me if I don't provide anything until say, 1 or 2 weeks before the deadline? Yes, we can still work with you. We are more than happy to help no matter when you get us your drafts. However, the time we will have available to help you will be dictated by how many grants are already ahead of you on our board. We will do as much as we can, but it is possible if you wait until 2 weeks before the deadline that we will only have time to do basic editing for grammar and formatting. If you wait until 1 week before the deadline, then we will do what we can, but we only will be able to guarantee editing to ensure compliance with the solicitation, rather than grantsmanship.