How to Build a Productive Relationship with NIH

Topics Know your disease Know the NIH and NINDS Have realistic expectations Advocate for stronger NIH and FDA Know about related diseases

How to Build a Productive Relationship with NIH

Know your disease Learn about the science and the status of the

research related to your disease

Provide seed funding to investigators to facilitate future NIH grant applications Play an active role, as appropriate, in grant

submissions (e.g. support letters)

Discovery PreclinicalDevelopment

Clinical Development

PhasesI II lll

Approval Market

How to Build a Productive Relationship with NIH

Know the NIH and NINDS! Meet and work closely with your Program Director Learn about the various NIH grant mechanisms

Stay aware of new opportunities for funding (e.g. new RFAs) which may benefit your investigators and/or industry partners

And share this information! Attend the open sessions of NINDS Advisory

Council meetings Build relationships

Organize workshops with the NINDS and invite investigators, FDA and/or industry

Help facilitate collaborations (“play matchmaker”)

How to Build a Productive Relationship with NIH

Have realistic expectations (part of knowing the NIH and NINDS)

Understand NIH/NINDS constraints; how they can help and how they cannot!

“What did you expect?”

How to Build a Productive Relationship with NIH

Advocate For stronger NIH and FDA budgets vs. disease

specific earmarks

Join coalitions Weight value vs. cost Consider the NIH perspective of coalitions vs. the

perspective of a given center or institute

How to Build a Productive Relationship with NIH

Know about related diseases (part of relationship building)

Find common mechanisms amongst diseases and use to promote discovery and translation (e.g., oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, proteinopathy, etc.)