NIH Supplement sections (step-by-step)

Personal Statement

3,500 characters
Tailor to your role on this project
No formal citations/reference list inside the text
You may discuss training, previous work, technical expertise, collaborators/scientific environment, and past performance on ongoing or completed projects from the past 3 years
You may briefly explain factors that affected past productivity (for example family care responsibilities, illness, disability, or military service)
If you published or created products under another name, you may say so here
For some institutional training, career development, or research education submissions, faculty who are not senior/key personnel may enter N/A
Dissertation research awards such as R36 should include career goals/trajectory and interest in NOFO-specific areas when relevant

All senior/key persons should complete this section; if you truly have nothing to include, enter N/A
Up to 5 contributions
2,000 characters each
No formal citations/reference list inside the text
No figures, tables, or graphics
Graduate students and postdocs may decide to emphasize 2–3 contributions rather than forcing all 5
A good contribution entry usually covers: historical background/problem, central finding(s), influence on the field, and your specific role
Each contribution can reference up to 5 relevant items from Other Significant Products
NIH does not require a special reference format here; the safest pattern is to mention the title, author’s last name, publication/source, and/or year of the product you are pointing to
You may mention relevant work that is still under development and not yet published

Templates: