“Writing a Good Grant: An Introduction”
Speaker: Dr. Leona Flores, Director, SDSU Research Development
Abstract: Writing a good grant proposal may not come easily to some, especially in the initial stage of your higher education endeavors. This presentation will focus on the overall grant proposal and review process with particular focus on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Application, covering elements that include general information, eligibility, summary of essay requirements, faculty recommendations and support for the submission of the application. Other funding opportunities for students entering or in the early years of a PhD program will be briefly discussed.
Biography: Dr. Leona Flores serves as Director, Research Development for SDSU Research Foundation. In her role, Dr. Flores works closely with SDSURF Associate Executive Director of Research Advancement, Tim Hushen, and Senior Director, Research Project Development, John Crockett, PhD, to promote university research and education through identifying and developing new research and training opportunities for SDSU faculty.
Before joining SDSURF, Dr. Flores was Director, Research Development and Collaboration at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center as part of the high-level leadership team involved in administrative/scientific program management and decision strategy support, including complex Cancer Center-wide, multidisciplinary research funding proposals (e.g., NCI P30; $32M/5 years). Other cancer center roles included development of functional cross-disciplinary research teams of scientific/clinical faculty leaders and researchers to foster and implement translational efforts and funding opportunities, inter- and intra-institutional pilot grants director, and website and scientific communications manager. In addition, she served as Associate Editor for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) journal Cancer Prevention Research.
Dr. Flores received her PhD from University of California San Diego in Biomedical Science where she studied arterial flow-induced atherosclerotic plaque formation and continued as a two-year postdoctoral fellow. She worked as an forensic technician for the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner having assisted in over 3500 autopsies before earning her Bachelor’s degree (BS) in Biological Science from Cal State Fullerton where she studied protein assembly in blue-green algae. Prior to that, Dr. Flores worked as a licensed professional engineer responsible for engineering design and structural analysis of custom residential homes after completing her Bachelor’s degree (BS) in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.