NIH biosketch
An NIH biosketch example, section by section
This NIH biosketch belongs to Ada Lane, a made-up physician researcher applying for an R01. It follows the 2026 format, the Biographical Sketch Common Form and then the NIH supplement, with a note after each section on the rule it follows.
Updated
The template is the form in SciENcv
NIH has no Word or PDF template for the 2026 biosketch. You fill in the form in SciENcv, which prints both parts as one PDF, and the NIH biosketch format guide gives every section’s rules.
There is not a blank template that can be downloaded and completed outside of SciENcv.
From Biographical Sketch Common Form, NIH Grants and Funding
Identifying information
| Field | Ada Lane’s entry |
|---|---|
| Name | Lane, Ada |
| Persistent identifier (PID) | Her ORCID iD, linked to her eRA Commons profile |
| Position title | Associate Professor of Medicine |
| Organization and location | Alder Valley University, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States |
One ORCID iD throughout
The iD in the PID field must be the one linked to her eRA Commons profile, and that profile must be the one named in the application’s Credential field (NOT-OD-26-079).
Professional preparation
| Organization and location | Degree or training | Start | Completed | Field of study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alder Valley University, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States | MPH | 08/2009 | 05/2011 | Epidemiology |
| Alder Valley University, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States | Postdoctoral fellowship | 07/2009 | 06/2011 | Health services research |
| Alder Valley University, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States | Residency | 07/2006 | 06/2009 | Internal medicine |
| Lakeshore University, Lakeshore, Michigan, United States | MD | 08/2002 | 05/2006 | Medicine |
| Cedar Hill College, Cedar Hill, Ohio, United States | BS | 08/1998 | 05/2002 | Biology |
Newest first by start date
SciENcv sorts these entries by start date (NCBI’s help), so the MPH, begun in August 2009, sits above the fellowship begun a month earlier. Each fellowship is its own entry, and the bachelor’s degree is listed.
Appointments and positions
| Years | Title | Organization, department and location |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 to present | Associate Professor of Medicine | Alder Valley University, Department of Medicine, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States |
| 2022 to present | Board Member | Alder Valley Community Clinic, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States |
| 2015 to 2021 | Assistant Professor of Medicine | Alder Valley University, Department of Medicine, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States |
| 2011 to present | Attending Physician | Alder Valley University Hospital, Division of Hospital Medicine, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States |
| 2011 to 2015 | Instructor in Medicine | Alder Valley University, Department of Medicine, Alder Valley, Ohio, United States |
Paid or unpaid
The unpaid clinic board seat is outside her university and listed because it was active in the last three years. Her primary appointment sits at the top, then the rest by start date.
Products
Closely related to the proposed project
- Okafor J, Lane A. Sample size for stepped-wedge studies of care transition programs: a simulation study. Care Transitions Research. 2025;9(2):88-97.
- Lane A, Okafor J, Delgado R, et al. Pharmacist telephone follow-up after discharge for heart failure: a pilot randomized study. Journal of Discharge Medicine. 2024;8(1):12-21.
- Delgado R, Lane A. A structured script for pharmacist follow-up calls after discharge: development and usability testing. Care Transitions Research. 2023;7(4):201-209.
- Lane A, Chen M, Okafor J. Medication discrepancies in the first week after discharge among older adults with heart failure. Midwest Health Services Review. 2022;14(3):145-153.
- Lane A, Okafor J, Brooks T, et al. Thirty-day readmissions after heart failure hospitalization in a regional health system. Journal of Discharge Medicine. 2021;5(2):55-63.
Other significant products
- Lane A, Brooks T, Chen M. Teach-back at discharge and older adults’ understanding of their medications. Midwest Health Services Review. 2019;11(1):30-38.
- Lane A, Brooks T. Hospitalist handoffs to primary care: a statewide survey. Journal of Discharge Medicine. 2017;1(1):5-12.
- Lane A, Okafor J. Alder Valley care transitions cohort, 2015 to 2020 [dataset]. Alder Valley University Data Repository. 2023.
Ten products at most
These eight products are the biosketch’s only citations, and a product can be data, as the last one is. The statement and the contributions refer to them by first author and year. A real citation also carries its web address and any persistent identifier, such as a PMID or PMCID.
Personal statement
I am a hospitalist and health services researcher, and I will lead this project as principal investigator. The project asks whether pharmacist phone calls in the first week after discharge reduce readmissions among older adults with heart failure. My training in internal medicine and a research fellowship with an MPH in epidemiology prepared me to study the move from hospital to home. My team found that medication discrepancies in the first week home are common and predict readmission (Lane et al., 2022), and we described readmissions across our regional health system (Lane et al., 2021). With Dr. Rosa Delgado, a clinical pharmacist and co-investigator, I developed the call script this project uses (Delgado and Lane, 2023) and led a pilot randomized study of 160 patients (Lane et al., 2024). Dr. Jordan Okafor, our biostatistician since 2017, led the simulation that set this project’s sample size (Okafor and Lane, 2025). Ongoing and recently completed projects I would like to highlight: Pharmacist Follow-up After Heart Failure Discharge, Alder Valley Health Foundation, principal investigator, 2023 to 2025; Medication Safety in the First Week Home, Alder Valley University, principal investigator, 2021 to 2023. Before 2010 I published as Ada Morris.
References, not citations
The statement runs to 1,266 characters of the 3,500 allowed. It names her role, her collaborators and her recent projects, refers to products in parentheses, and says she has published under another name, as the supplement’s instructions ask.
Honors
| Year | Honor | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Award for Excellence in Mentoring | Department of Medicine, Alder Valley University |
| 2018 | Early Career Investigator Award | Midwest Society for Health Services Research |
| 2015 | Teaching Award | Internal Medicine Residency Program, Alder Valley University |
| 2010 | Board certification, Internal Medicine | American Board of Internal Medicine |
| 2009 | Medical license | State Medical Board of Ohio |
Clinicians list licenses
Her medical license and board certification sit under Honors, as NIH asks of clinicians. Honors hold up to 15 entries. With none, enter “Nothing to Report” and the current year.
Contributions to science
1. Medication errors in the first week home
Older adults leave the hospital after heart failure with many medication changes, and the first week home carries the most risk. In 1,240 discharges, my team found that 38% of patients had a medication discrepancy within seven days, most often a diuretic dose, and that patients with a discrepancy were readmitted more often (Lane et al., 2022; Lane et al., 2021). Our health system added a pharmacist review at discharge as a result. I designed both studies, directed the analyses with Dr. Okafor and wrote the papers.
2. Pharmacist follow-up calls
No tested script existed for pharmacists calling older adults after a heart failure stay. With a clinical pharmacist, I wrote a structured call script and tested it with 24 pharmacists (Delgado and Lane, 2023). In a pilot randomized study of 160 patients, pharmacists reached 94% of patients within 72 hours, and 30-day readmissions were 15% with calls and 24% with usual care (Lane et al., 2024). Three hospitals now use the script. I conceived the program and led the pilot.
3. Communication at discharge
Discharge summaries often reach primary care late or leave out pending tests, and patients often go home unsure of their medications. I led a statewide survey of 412 hospitalists and primary care physicians on how they hand off patients (Lane and Brooks, 2017), then a study of teach-back at discharge (Lane et al., 2019). The results shaped my institution’s discharge checklist and a regional teaching program for residents. I designed both studies and lead the teaching program.
Background, finding, influence, role
Each contribution gives the problem, the finding, what changed because of it and her own role, in 519, 476 and 480 characters of the 2,000 allowed.
Make yours from your CV
In ScienceDex’s NIH biosketch, your appointments, education and honors come from your CV. For each application you write the personal statement, choose the products and describe the contributions, then download the Word file to check it and paste your words into SciENcv.
Faculty privacy sets out who can open your CV.
Questions
How many contributions to science should I describe?
Up to five, each up to 2,000 characters. NIH’s instructions say graduate students and postdocs may highlight two or three.
Does a medical license go on an NIH biosketch?
Yes, for clinicians. The Honors section asks clinicians to list their clinical licensures and specialty board certifications.
Sources
- Biographical Sketch Common Form NIH Grants and Funding. Read .
- Instructions for Biographical Sketch Supplement NIH Grants and Funding. Read .
- SciENcv My NCBI Help, NCBI. Read .
- Announcement of Upcoming System Enforcement of Common Forms and End of NIH’s Leniency Period NIH Grants and Funding. Read .
- Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support NIH Grants and Funding. Read .