From the solicitation: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14590/nsf14590.htm[1]
Has anyone done one successfully or heard of someone doing one successfully?
The only way I can think of around this issue is to frame the research as "basic research" which could lead to treatments for disease 'x.' Is this wise?
Posted Aug 29, 2014, 7:46 PM UTC
Plant pathogens were A-OK, at least when I applied in 2011. My proposal was all about torturing wild chili peppers with different wild fungal pathogens, and they ate it up!
I hope you have a side project involving salsas!
I do make use of extra fruits! They are delicious!
Dude. I want to switch systems.
There are lots of questions left unanswered in this system... I left a bunch of plants on the east coast if you want 'em! Capsicum chacoense :)
It means the NSF doesn't really have a large budget so they would rather not fund something that should really be funded by the NIH
Yes, NSF funds basic research. You need to justify your proposal in those grounds. Like another poster said, if your research is really bio medically oriented you can apply for fellowships from the NIH (there is the F31 fellowship for example).
If you want to try for the GFRP anyway, you will want to look into what they are asking for and make your research fit it. Try to think about how your research proposal will advance general understanding of science not just save lives. Also, be sure that you spend a LOT of time on your broader impacts - it's much more important in the NSF than NIH.
I'm assuming they don't want you manipulating human subjects. Perhaps if your research doesn't require manipulation it may be feasible? I've found the people behind GRFP to respond to emails pretty quickly, perhaps seek some clarification?
PS remove the [1] from your url link.
I was awarded the GRFP for a project involving a disease system. I avoided mentioning human disease applications and instead framed it as a hypothesis driven project using a disease system as a way to investigate questions about evolution under variable environments and co-evolution of host-pathogen systems. I did bring up in my broader impacts section that I would be collaborating with the department of public health for outreach efforts (still emphasizing the benefits of basic science funding).
If your project could reasonably be funded by the NIH, NIAID, or CDC, then whoever has been tasked with reviewing your application might just toss it in the "do not fund" pile. Sometimes the benefit of working with human pathogens is the fantastic datasets available for asking foundational science questions, so if that is what you plan to do then don't try to frame your question as having direct applications for human health (i.e. I'm making a cancer drug to sell to big pharma and I'll never publish anything! is probably not going to be funded by the NSF).
The NSF GRFP keeps a database of students who have been awarded the GRFP and are willing to be contacted by local applicants for questions and advice. I strongly recommend you make the most of this resource.
I received the fellowship for a similar project on the role of interspecies recombination in viral host range expansion. I was careful to frame it as a study of viral evolution and not pathogenesis in humans. Also, I second the advice niceasimov has given above. People at your institution that have already been awarded the fellowship are your best resource!