Michael Beets, Ph.D.
Professor, Exercise Science
Arnold School of Public Health
Public Health Research Center
Propel makes the grant funding process more accessible to early career faculty at USC
Read the article from the first cohort of the Propel Mentorship Program on the Office of the Vice President for Research site.
Program Overview
Propel supports faculty members new to the large federal grants application process who want to apply for a large grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the National Science Foundation (NSF).
This program provides participating faculty with nine months of intensive mentorship, education, workshops and editing support as they plan, draft, finalize and submit their NIH or NSF proposal.
Program Length: Academic Year
Number of In-Person Sessions: 8 Half-Day Sessions
Eligible Faculty Rank: Assistant or Associate Professor & Assistant or Associate Research Faculty
Eligibility Requirements
To be considered for Propel, faculty members must:
- Be employed at USC Columbia, the USC schools of medicine in Columbia or Greenville, a four-year UofSC comprehensive institution or a USC Palmetto College campus.
- Hold the title of assistant or associate professor (including assistant and associate research faculty).
- Be new to the federal grant application process or have only received relatively small external grant awards/subawards.
- Not have received a large federal grant such as an NIH R01 or a medium/large NSF award of $500,000 or more.
Participant Expectations
Propel participants are expected to:
- Attend eight in-person program sessions on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- Take the lead in scheduling at least one mentor meeting per month.
- Submit draft proposal sections on schedule and implement feedback.
- Plan, develop and submit a competitive grant proposal by the program’s end.
Propel Faculty Lead