CVs and NIH Biosketches
Curriculum Vitae
The curriculum vitae (CV) is your professional biography. In many academic situations, such as the appointment, promotion or tenure process, it is the major source of information about you that is provided to others, internal and external. Therefore, your CV must communicate your activities and accomplishments as clearly and effectively as possible.
UMass Chan uses a standard CV format—the UMass Chan Medical School CV Format—which is strongly recommended for appointment, promotion and tenure. For information on the UMass Chan Medical School CV Format see here.
NIH Biographical Sketch
Most grant applications require a Biographical Sketch ("biosketch"), an abbreviated record of your accomplishments. If you are engaged in research, even as a collaborator, you will need a biosketch. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biographical Sketch is the most common format. It is similar to a CV but limited to five pages with information pertinent to the application.
You can create a NIH biosketch online using SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae) to integrate information from your NIH eRA Commons profile and your bibliography in MyNCBI.
In addition to biographical information, the biosketch must include the following sections:
- Personal Statement, which must be targeted to the specific grant application
- Positions and Honors
- Scientific Contributions, up to five descriptions, each supported by up to four references
- Research Support, a selected list of ongoing and completed research projects
- Link (URL) to a full list of your published work as found in a publicly available digital database such as MyNCBI.
To learn more about the NIH Biosketch, view sample documents and download the current template, please visit the NIH website here.
The Lamar Soutter Library has extensive information on the new biosketch format and bibliography databases, including step-by-step instructions: click here.