How to apply for a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology in Research.gov

Contact email for the Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology (PRFB) program: bio-dbi-prfb@nsf.gov  

I. Important proposal preparation information 

Submit early: Set a calendar date to create your Research.gov account at least 30 days prior to the NSF deadline, and plan for submission at least three days prior to the NSF deadline. Any number of technical or human barriers can arise during the submission process. You want to be sure to give yourself time to solve any problems before the deadline. Research.gov does not allow late submissions, so you must have everything in before the deadline. 

The submission deadline is based on the address associated with your role in Research.gov, not your physical location. Since PRFB is a fellowship, you (the principal investigator) are also serving as the institution. This means that NSF considers your institutional address as the address you have listed in your NSF role, and the "local" time for the deadline is based on this address. For many fellows, this may be a different address than where they currently reside, or where they are based when completing the proposal submission. Any changes to your address must be made well in advance of the deadline. You are responsible for ensuring your address is correct and that you submit your proposal by the deadline set by your role; you should confirm your information and initiate any necessary changes to your address through Research.gov at least 21 days prior to the program deadline.

Be sure you are eligible. A proposer is eligible to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship if all the requirements below are met. If you fail to meet all the following eligibility criteria, your proposal will be returned without review. 

• Must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. permanent resident (i.e., have a green card) at the time of submission. 
• Must present a research plan that falls within the purview of the NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences (NSF BIO) and that focuses on the research area described in this solicitation. 
• Must earn a doctoral degree in an appropriate field prior to beginning the fellowship. 
• Must select sponsoring scientists, departments and institutions that offer a significant opportunity to broaden the proposer's research focus and training. 
• Must not have submitted the same research to another NSF postdoctoral fellowship program. 
• Must not have worked in any position that requires a doctoral degree for a combined total of more than 15 full-time months as of November 1 preceding the annual deadline.
• Must not have submitted proposals to the PRFB program more than once in previous years, i.e., you are limited to a maximum of two submissions, regardless of the outcome.

If you have trouble using Research.gov, the NSF Help Desk is available from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, except during federal holidays and weekends. Call 1-800-381-1532 or email rgov@nsf.gov. 

II. General document preparation guidelines

Prepare all documents according to the guidelines in the PRFB program solicitation and the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), under Proposal Preparation Instructions. Please note that some guidelines in the program solicitation will differ from the PAPPG; in those cases, the solicitation guidance should be followed. 

For your convenience, a summary of major requirements is given below. These requirements apply to all uploaded sections of a proposal, including supplementary documents. However, you are responsible for adhering to the guidelines provided in the solicitation and PAPPG. 

The proposal must be clear, readily legible and conform to the following requirements: 

1. Use one of the following fonts identified below: 
   • Arial (not Arial Narrow), Courier New or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger. 
   • Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger. 
   • Computer Modern family of fonts at a font size of 11 points or larger. 
2. A font size of less than 10 points may be used for mathematical formulas or equations, figures, tables or diagram captions and when using a Symbol font to insert Greek letters or special characters. Other fonts not specified above, such as Cambria Math, may be used for mathematical formulas, equations or when inserting Greek letters or special characters. 
3. No more than six lines of text should be within a vertical space of 1 inch. 
4. Margins in all directions must be at least 1 inch. No proposer-supplied information may appear in the margins. 
5. Paper size must be no larger than standard letter paper size (8 1/2 by 11 in., or 11 by 8 ½ in.). 
6. Proposers are strongly encouraged to use only a standard, single-column format for the text. 
7. Proposers are strongly encouraged to make use of grammar and spelling checkers on all documents.

III. Registration process on Research.gov 

1. PRFB proposals are submitted by individual researchers, not by their affiliated institutions. Thus, you must register as a proposed postdoctoral fellow at Research.gov. 
   • Go to Research.gov and complete the account registration. 
   • Please use an email address that will not change when you switch institutions to ensure you will be able to receive NSF emails throughout the proposal and award timelines. 
   • After registering, you should be brought to a summary page reviewing your responses. Verify the information and edit it as necessary. 
   • Be sure to record your NSF ID number as you may need it in future steps. 
2. Sign in to your account and select "My Profile," then select "Add a New Role." 
3. Under "Prepare Proposals and Manage Awards," select "Add Investigator or Authorized User Role." 
4. Select "Proposed Postdoctoral Fellow," and then "Submit." 
5. It may take the system up to 30 minutes to reflect this new role in your status. 

IV. Starting the proposal submission process through Research.gov 

1. Select "Prepare and Submit Proposals," then select "Prepare New" and "Full Proposal." 
2. A screen will open asking you to associate your new proposal with an organization. Using the drop-down menu, select "I am a Proposed Postdoctoral Fellow (Postdoctoral fellowship proposal)" then click "Select and Continue." 
3. Select the funding opportunity number for the current PRFB solicitation, then click "Next." 
4. Select where to apply: "Div of Biological Infrastructure (DBI)." 
5. Next, select the appropriate program: "Biology Postdoctoral Research."
6. Save your selection, then click "Next." 
7. Select "Proposal Type." "Postdoctoral Fellowship" will be automatically selected for you. Click "Next." 
8. Under "Proposal Details," your proposal title will be automatically populated with "Postdoctoral Fellowship: PRFB:" [Enter the rest of your proposal title]. 
9. The title of the project must be brief, scientifically or technically valid and suitable for use in the public press. 
10. The title, including the prefix, may not be longer than 180 characters (including spaces). 
11. Select "Prepare Proposal" to continue. Your proposal will now be assigned a temporary number, and you can upload the required documents. 

V. Completing proposal sections 

1. Select a due date. Click on "Select Due Date" near the top right corner of the proposal submission page. Use the dropdown to select the deadline date (it should be the only option). 
2. Note that all the components of your proposal are listed on the menu to the left. 
3. Prepare your cover sheet first by selecting "Cover Sheet." 
   • Enter your requested start date (the 1st or the 15th of the month between June 1 of the year following the deadline, and September 1 of the year after that — a 15-month window). 
   • Enter the information for your host institution. If you have more than one host institution, list the lead host institution. List any additional federal agencies to which you plan to or have submitted the same proposal. 
   • Select the appropriate options under "Other Information" (e.g., Live Vertebrate Animals, Human Subjects, International Activities). 
   • Click "Save" when you are done with this page. 
4. Follow solicitation guidance for the remaining documents (all are listed in the menu on the left). Most are self-explanatory, and detailed information regarding the contents can be found in the solicitation or accompanying documents. However, there are a few requirements from the PAPPG, departures from the PAPPG and other details that are worth noting. 
   • Under "Required": 
     1. References Cited. There are no page limits on this document, but follow PAPPG guidelines. 
     2. Budget Justification: This document is not required for the PRFB. Instead, upload a file containing only the text, "Budget Justification document not applicable." 
     3. Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources: This document is not required for the PRFB. Instead, upload a file containing only the text, "Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources document not applicable." 
     4. Personnel Documents: Please see the PAPPG for guidance on the Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support, Collaborators and Other Affiliations (COA) and Synergistic Activities documents. Your sponsor(s) are considered senior personnel and thus will require the same personnel documents that you need to submit for yourself. Your sponsor's COA must be submitted under "Additional Single Copy Documents" (see below for more information). Be sure to submit your sponsors' documents under "Add Sponsoring Scientist." Do not use "Add Mentor/Advisor." If you have co-sponsors, add the lead sponsor's documents first. 
     5. Data Management and Sharing Plan: This document is required. Please follow the guidance from NSF BIO. 
     6. Mentoring Plan: This document is not required. Please do not upload a file to this section. 
   • Under "May be Required": 
     1. PhD Abstract: Please upload a copy of your doctoral abstract (limited to one page). 
     2. Do not upload any of the following: Letters of Collaboration, Letters of Support, Host Institution Letters or Research Support. Under "Required only for MSPRF and PRFB": 
        1. Start the reference letter submission process from your two references under "Reference Letter Requests." Further guidance for reference letter writers can be found in the "Reference Letter Author Submission Guide" on the PRFB program page. 
           1. Reference letters must be submitted before you submit your proposal. Reference letter writers will need sufficient time to enter their letters prior to the deadline. 
           2. Your proposed sponsor should not submit a reference letter. 
           3. Do not upload more than two reference letters. 
     3. Application Form: The application form is self-explanatory. However, you should not fill out any information in the Section "Questions for MSPRF Proposals." 
     4. Sponsoring Scientist Statement: Be sure that the document adheres to the instructions in the solicitation. The statement itself must not exceed three pages. Further guidance for Sponsors can be found in the 'Sponsoring Scientist Statement Instructions' on the PRFB program page. 
   • Under "Optional": 
     1. Do not upload anything under "Other Personnel Biographical Information." 
     2. Use "Additional Single Copy Documents" for COA documents from Sponsoring Scientist(s). 
        1. Please note that Research.gov will not allow you to upload COAs in this section in the original template form. You will need to convert the COAs to PDF files. 

VI. Final steps 

1. When the proposal is complete, select "Check Error(s) and Warning(s)" to ensure all required documents have been submitted. This does not ensure that each document complies with the solicitation. It is up to you to ensure that you have followed all guidelines. 
2. Print out all the forms using the "Print Proposal" button to double-check conversions and be sure that everything has been included. 
3. When satisfied that all documents are within the page limits and print out accurately, return to the "Proposal Actions" screen and select "Initiate Proposal Submission." If all documents are uploaded, the screen shows the prompt, "This proposal is ready for submission." You will also be provided with a link to view the full proposal as a PDF. 
4. Select "Next" to be taken to the Certifications and Submissions page. 
   • Scroll down and read the information under "Proposal Certifications." 
   • Keep scrolling down and reading until you have completed the document. 
5. Click on the checkbox labeled "I have read and agree to the certifications listed above." 
6. Then, select "Sign and Submit" to both electronically sign and submit your proposal to NSF. 
7. The next screen will show your official NSF proposal ID number. Please save this number and use it for all correspondence with NSF about your proposal. You did not complete the submission process if you did not receive a proposal ID number.