To support professional development and networking opportunities for physician-scientists across BSD, CAPS offers quarterly and annual opportunities, including CAPS Mock Study Sections, Professional Development Roundtables, and Annual Career Development Retreat.
Submission deadline for the next cycle will be announced late November.
Purpose
The CAPS Mock Study Section provides principal investigators (PIs) with structured feedback on their proposals in an NIH-style study section format. The goal is to improve proposal quality and enhance applicants’ competitiveness for fundable scores.
Eligibility
Proposals must be planned for submission within the next six months. New proposals and resubmissions are eligible.Eligible proposals include:
- Career development awards (e.g., K awards)
- Independent research awards (e.g., R awards); priority will be given to 1st time applicants
Review Process
- Each proposal will be evaluated by a panel of peer and content-specific reviewers using the NIH scoring criteria.
- Reviewers will meet via Zoom to discuss each proposal. The PI will not be present during the discussion.
- PIs will receive the written critiques from reviewers and a recording of the Zoom meeting.
Submission Requirements
Proposals should be submitted as a single PDF document following the NIH format, including:
- Title
- Abstract
- Summary
- Introduction (for revised proposals only)
- Specific Aims
- Research Strategy
- References
- PI Biosketch
- Budget Justification
- Training Plan (for Career Development Awards)
Additionally, include a list of at least three suggested UChicago faculty reviewers (excluding your mentors or major collaborators). Please submit your proposal PDF and suggested reviewers to elahe.ganji@bsd.uchicago.edu
CAPS Professional Development Roundtables support the educational and professional development of physician-scientists in training across the Biological Sciences Division. Sessions will meet for one hour on the second Friday of each month at noon.
Fall 2026 topics are as follows:
- October 9: Resources for Physician Scientists at UChicago
- November 13: What is URA & How It Is Critical for Your Grant Submissions
- December 11: Anatomy of a Grant