Introducing the CRS Grant Toolkit

CRS Program Administrator, Lauren Ataman-Millhouse, with the help of CRS co-Director Dr. Francesca Duncan, recently developed and deployed the Center for Reproductive Science Grant Toolkit as a way to help investigators seamlessly prepare NIH grant applications. The goal of the toolkit is to provide CRS investigators with template documents to ease the administrative burden of the grant submission process. The toolkit is a great resource for anyone assembling an NIH grant proposal from seasoned investigators new to the field of reproductive science to young investigators, like junior faculty, postdocs, and graduate students.

The toolkit includes an introductory one-page “How to Submit an NIH Grant” document with links to a number of helpful resources and also provides investigators with boilerplate ancillary NIH documents. This includes:

• Biosketch
• Research Data Sharing Plan
• Equipment
• Authentication of Biological and Chemical Resources
• Facilities and Resources
• Vertebrate Animals (if applicable)
• Human Subjects (if applicable)

The CRS Grant Toolkit also includes full examples of funded NIH proposals and information about how to build an NIH budget and budget justification. All of the templates are tailored to showcase the strength of the research & facilities environment at Northwestern University and the Center for Reproductive Science (CRS).  

Submitting a grant can be a daunting task, especially for a young investigator, but the CRS Grant Toolkit provides guidance to investigators to demystify the grant submission process to make it approachable and accessible. If you have any questions, or would like to access the CRS Grant Toolkit, please email CRS@northwestern.edu.