Expressing our inner thoughts: how to organize and write a clinical research project grant application

Securing funding for clinical research projects is becoming increasingly difficult. At present, scientific merit is an essential but not necessarily sufficient attribute of a successful research proposal. It is the premise of this article that each section of the application contributes important information to the reviewer and that carelessness or inattention to detail in any section may be a critical factor in the lack of success of an application. Each section of the standard NIH application is analyzed and suggestions are provided with regard to their organization and execution.