Pivot and Pitch: Reframing your research to increase funding success

Given the shifting landscape of research funding, it is more important than ever to equip ourselves with the know-how to identify new funding opportunities, find connecting threads between our research and the available funding opportunities, and effectively communicate these alignments in our grant writing.

Come join us to learn firsthand from CoCo Headley and Daniel Kim about how they pivoted their research to different funding opportunities and topics, and to learn new and creative strategies for identifying new funding opportunities to fund your research and support your career development from Brandi Stephens, Megan Mayerle and Liz Seckel.

About the Presenters:

Colwyn “CoCo” Headley, PhD is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Philip Tsao, at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. Dr. Headley’s research examines the interplay among aging-associated immune dysregulation, cellular senescence, and mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases. In the simplest sense, Dr. Headley is investigating whether putting new engines (mitochondria) in old cars (aged cells), can help the old cars run better and longer. CoCo became interested in Grant Coaching after participating as a trainee, and hopes to pay it forward by providing meaningful critiques and suggestions, to his trainees.

Dan Seung Kim, MD, PhD, MPH is presently a Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine and Lead Fellow for the Translational Investigator Program (TIP) at Stanford University and works in the laboratory of Euan Ashley on a portfolio centering around exercise and physical activity. Exercise is the most potent intervention in preventing the common diseases of aging. However, most adults do not meet the recommended amount of exercise. To combat this, Dr. Kim is leveraging digital interventions on smartphones and has demonstrated that personalized, AI-driven interventions are more likely to increase short-term physical activity in adults.

Brandi Stephens, PhD is a Research Development Strategist for the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and a trained physiologist with a background in diversity-focused and health equity research. She combines her love for science and passion for grant writing to provide strategic advice and support to clinical fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and junior faculty to submit competitive grant applications and to maximize funding success.

Megan Mayerle, PhD  is the Associate Director of Research Development, Finance, and Administration for the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology. Dr. Megan Mayerle earned her PhD at Johns Hopkins University researching ribosome assembly in bacteria. Dr. Mayerle then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Christine Guthrie at University of California, San Francisco before joining Stanford as a Grant Writer and Project Coordinator at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. Now as the Associate Director of Research Development, Finance and Administration, Dr. Mayerle drafts and edits scientific manuscripts, grants, and other documents as well as provides budgetary, operational, and administrative oversight.

Elizabeth Seckel, MA is the Director of Strategic Research Development for Cardiovascular Medicine. A former neuroscience researcher, Liz has helped raise millions of dollars from public and private funding entities to advance women’s rights and sexual health, and has received several awards and distinctions both for her scientific work as well as her commitment to philanthropy. As Grant Writer for the Ob/Gyn Department, she wrote, edited and provided project management support for research grants, complex multidisciplinary proposals, and peer-reviewed publications. Now as a Director of Strategic Research Development, she helps translate aspirations into funded programs and devises and implements effective strategies for targeting a variety of public and private funding sources. She also provides individualized grantsmanship advice, coaching, and assistance to all tiers of trainees and faculty in Cardiovascular Medicine

This event is sponsored by the RD Community, Grant Writing Academy and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.

If you need a disability related accommodation to participate in this event (captioning, sign language interpreting, Braille, etc.), please contact the Diversity & Access Office at disability.access@stanford.edu or 650.725.0326. Requests should be received at least one week prior to the event.