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A biographical sketch (also referred to as biosketch) documents an individual's qualifications and experience for a specific role in a project.
NIH requires submission of a biosketch for each proposed senior/key personnel and other significant contributor on a grant application. Some funding opportunities or programs may also request biosketches for additional personnel (e.g., Participating Faculty Biosketch attachment for institutional training awards).
Applicants and recipients are required to submit biosketches
- in competing applications for all types of grant programs,
- in progress reports when new senior/key personnel or other significant contributors are identified, and
- to support prior approval requests for changes in senior/key personnel status and changes of recipient organization.
NIH staff and peer reviewers utilize the biosketch to ensure that individuals included on the applications are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research.
NIH biosketches must conform to a specific format. Applicants and recipients can use the provided format pages to prepare their biosketch attachments or can use SciENcv, a tool used to develop and automatically format biosketches according to NIH requirements.