Independent Investigator Incubator Program (I3)
The I3 program gives early career faculty a unique mentoring experience that will help you to secure funding and further your research as you transition to independent researchers.
Move Your Career Forward
The I3 program helps you build skills beyond your specific scientific discipline. We’ll help you jump-start your career with guidance on navigating faculty life and more. A study published in BMC Medical Education called it “transformative mentorship” with significant productivity outcomes in publications, presentations, and funding acquisition.
- Significant one-on-one support from your mentor
- Assistance with grant writing and development
- Exclusive professional development workshops
- Biostatistical support
Early career faculty members from Indiana CTSI-affiliated institutions who are:
- Hold a faculty appointment at the IU School of Medicine
- Are committed to actively engaging with the program and mentor
- Determined to pursue a career as an independent investigator
- Supported by their affiliated department/division to participate
The Selection Process
The program accepts new applications on a rolling basis. Applications are reviewed, and those selected will be invited to the program’s grant writing workshop (Implementing Grant Writing Strategies). This workshop is run in two forms:
Synchronous cohort-based workshop – each year from January through April, with meetings every few weeks via Zoom.
Asynchronous individualized workshop – scheduled on an individualized basis in December.
Once a scholar successfully completes the grant writing workshop, they will be matched with an established faculty mentor. These mentors have proven track records in extramural funding success and a passion for mentoring early-career faculty. They will aid scholars in building their mentoring teams and reviewing their grant applications (with a focus on the Aims, Background/Significance, and Introduction sections). Scholars will also be matched with a grant-writing mentor who will work with them to edit the entire grant package.
Meet the Faculty Mentors
Meet the Grant Writing Mentors
Implementing Grant Writing Strategies: Resource Navigation, Proposal Development & Submission
Grant writing mentors John Paul Spence, PhD, and Christina Rose Santangelo, MD host a yearly workshop open to anyone who is interested, regardless of participation in the I3 program.
The primary goal of the workshop, which runs virtually from February to May, is (i) to prepare a NIH style grant application and (ii) to submit the proposal in the six months following the conclusion of the workshop. The workshop is a multi-week didactic engagement with a cohort of early career faculty, and features several guest speakers as well as concludes with two Mock Reviews of participant grants.
We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this training opportunity. This in-depth, hands-on workshop will prepare you for submitting a major independent grant application.