Addressing Your Grant Writing Training Needs: An Update from the Scientific Education Council

Margy Y. Chen, MA; Cyd Eaton, PhD; Scherezade Mama, DrPH - The Scientific Education Council

The Scientific Education Council (SEC) is responsible for supporting members’ scientific pursuits through education, training, and events, including at the Annual Meeting. Over the past year, the SEC took a closer look at members’ grant writing training needs, specifically, and how SBM can best meet them. We reviewed member input and existing grant writing training opportunities to consider how SBM could add unique value to this space. Additionally, we conducted a landscape analysis of institution-based grant writing programs, fee-based workshops, and other society-led trainings to identify strengths, limitations, and gaps in grant writing training for behavioral medicine scholars.

We found that many existing grant writing trainings and resources are internal to universities or research organizations and are often limited to one-time workshops for a general audience (not behavioral medicine-specific). Few provide cross-institutional access, structured mentorship, or hands-on training in peer reviewing grant proposals, a skillset often requested. We also noted limited training on funding opportunities beyond NIH (e.g., foundations) and little practical guidance on budgeting, team building, and pre- and post-award logistics—areas of growing interest and need among SBM members.

The good news -- SBM is well-positioned to address the training gaps identified in our analysis! As a cross-institutional community, SBM has the capacity to connect members with experienced behavioral medicine investigators who can provide mentorship and feedback on proposals—for example, reviewing Specific Aims, guidance on funding mechanisms to target, practical advice on budgeting and submission logistics, and insights into the peer review process. We also plan to explore cohort-based opportunities and training opportunities at the Annual Meeting.

What does this mean for SBM programming?

The SEC is committed to addressing SBM members’ scientific training needs. In the near term, we plan to prioritize:

1. Expanded Annual Meeting sessions focused on Specific Aims development and review, the peer review process, and non-NIH funding pathways.
2. Virtual programming or webinar series that deliver practical, behavioral medicine-specific guidance on grant writing.
3. Opportunities for mentorship and structured feedback on proposals that can be integrated into existing SBM offerings.

Looking ahead

Our findings make clear that SBM members across career stages are eager for training opportunities in grant writing that combine practical guidance, behavioral medicine expertise, and cross-institutional community. Enhancing SBM’s capacity to support members’ training in grant writing is value added not only for our membership but the organization at large. These insights are already shaping upcoming SEC initiatives and efforts, and we look forward to building training opportunities that are more accessible, tailored and responsive to where our field is heading.

As we continue refining and expanding our efforts, we welcome your ideas and involvement. Please feel free to reach out to SBM SEC Chair, Dr. Scherezade Mama (skmama@mdanderson.org), with suggestions, interest in collaborating, or questions about future initiatives.