Preparing Pre-doctoral Fellowship Applications: An Interview with a Current NRSA F31 Recipient

Tammy Stump, PhD; Tyler Mason, PhD;  Sam Battalio; MS & Multiple Health Behavior Change and Multimorbidities SIG

Ever wondered what it takes to submit a predoctoral fellowship application, or to mentor someone doing so? We talked to Sam Battalio, a fourth-year clinical psychology student at Northwestern University who was awarded an NRSA F31 fellowship by the NIH, to learn more. His funded project is: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of mHealth Weight Management for Racial/Ethnic Minorities. The project seeks to better understand how social disadvantage plays a role in mHealth weight management intervention, so we can use this information to optimize these interventions for racial and ethnic minority populations. 

Dr. Stump: What made you decide to apply for a predoctoral fellowship?

Mr. Battalio: “It came up a few times as early as graduate school interviews. As I learned more about it, it just seemed ideal. I want to have a career doing research funded by the NIH, and this is an opportunity to serve as a PI, in a very mentored way, while also getting training.”

Dr. Stump: How did you come up with the idea for your project?

Mr. Battalio: “I am passionate about redressing racial and ethnic inequities in chronic disease. This is a major public health issue that needs more research that thoughtfully leverages the huge fund of knowledge on social determinants of health. There were also practical considerations, too. Your research needs to be feasible and clearly aligned with your training goals. I had to consider what would be feasible given not just my personal interests and training goals, but also the training opportunities and research infrastructure available to me.“

Dr. Stump: How did you decide when to apply?

Mr. Battalio: “I learned that there’s some degree of “randomness” in the review process, so I wanted to make sure that I built in time for a revision. So, basically, as soon as I could! I started in the middle of my second year.”

Dr. Stump: What was it like to resubmit?

Mr. Battalio: "I was pleased that my first submission was scored (meaning it was at least in the top 50% of applications), but of course I was also disappointed. I had a few months before the resubmission date for the next cycle. I focused on being responsive to the reviews and tried not to dwell on the negatives. After reflecting on the process with some distance, I recognize now that fielding reviews and preparing a resubmission was a valuable learning opportunity."

Dr. Stump: Did getting the F31 change your grad school plans?

Mr. Battalio: “I decided to take an extra year of graduate school. The F31 creates additional flexibility to pursue training that can be difficult to acquire in other settings or later in a career. Building up your CV takes time – I’m still working on a couple of papers that I basically started day 1 of my program.”

Dr. Stump: Did your involvement in SBM help prepare you for an F31 submission?

Mr. Battalio: “I’ve met so many people through SBM who had insights to offer and even sometimes shared grant application examples. Early in my graduate career, I went to a lot of workshops and seminars that were relevant to my own research ideas. Even the archived previous webinars were a useful tool for me.”

Dr. Stump: Did you include any SBM activities in your training plan for the F31?

Mr. Battalio: “Yes, I proposed to attend SBM every year. I also set aside funds for the pre-conference workshops because I knew that there would be content that was directly relevant and helpful to my research activities.”

Dr. Stump: Any insights on how one might get started with their first application?

Mr. Battalio: “Submitting these takes a village, so start by figuring out who makes up yours! Seek out peers (in your program or at SBM) who have recently submitted an F31 and wouldn’t mind providing guidance or sharing materials. You will prepare the application with your primary sponsor (named mentor on the grant), with help from the director of your graduate program and grant administrators in your department. Set meetings with these people and collaborate to create your timeline and game plan.“

Dr. Stump: Any closing words about the experience?

Mr. Battalio: "Looking back, I can see how even preparing the application made me a better scientist. Even if I hadn’t gotten the award, I know that all the preparation would have left me in an excellent place for meeting my graduate program goals.”