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Training & Capacity Building Program

CZI Science Grantees and Partners

The Training & Capacity Building Program for CZI Science offers training series designed specifically for our Science grantees. These sessions aim to provide opportunities to grow and sharpen professional skills, foster collaboration, and learn from experts. Check out resources from previous trainings and stay tuned for our upcoming series announcements.

Unless indicated otherwise, the training sessions are open to CZI Science grantees and their team and/or group members, and to partners and collaborators of CZI Science.

Do you have other questions or needs around professional development in science? Contact our team: mcb-science@chanzuckerberg.com.

2024 Central Science Training Series

This year we are organizing a variety of Central Science Training series and workshops to cover the most requested topics from our grantees, including grant writing, leadership, project management, business skills and science communications. The series will take place in the spring, summer, and fall of 2024. Please check back in on this webpage for more details and registration opportunities as they become available.

 

  GRANT WRITING FOR SCIENCE
Morgan-Face Shot-Ocean-Cropped-Light

Dr. Morgan Giddings of SciFoundry, will be provided multiple trainings for participants to learn how to increase their science grant writing success. In addition to a 3 -day bootcamp, she'll be offering a training series that covers the four steps to funding. 

Grant Writing for Scientists Bootcamp: What it Takes to Write a Successful Proposal

June 18 - 20, 2024
Daily from 8am-2pm Pacific Time
Virtual Zoom Meeting held in English

APPLY HERE
Application Portal Open April 30 - May 22, 2024

This three-day virtual course is free of charge and will provide foundational skills for science grant writing and guiding tools that can be applied to grants in any funding setting. In this course you will:

  • Get clarity on how to construct a project that your reviewers and funders want to support;
  • Leave with a clear understanding of what a stellar first page or specific aims page should look like for your project; and
  • Learn how to tell a compelling project story that will engage your proposal reviewers rather than creating boredom or frustration.

This practical and hands-on course also includes small group exercises and the opportunity to think through a current or planned grant proposal in a structured manner. Do note, we’ll use lots of US examples, but these concepts and frameworks have been applied successfully with many participants across the globe. The bootcamp is hosted by Dr. Morgan Giddings of SCI•Foundry, with additional training support from her team at SCI•Foundry. 

To keep the learning environment to an effective size for collaboration and support, we will be admitting participants through an application process. The application portal will be open from April 30 - May 22 at 5 PM Pacific Time. Apply as soon as possible; applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Admitted applicants will be notified no later than June 1, 2024.

Eligibility & Expectations

  • Full three day course attendance and interaction is expected from all participants, including any homework
  • A prerequisite for training attendance is reviewing “The Four Steps to Funding” training series (videos available on our Wistia page)
  • The course is designed for early career PIs funded by CZI (within 6 years of your first independent position)
  • Eligibility is limited to those who can come with a specific project for funding and possible proposal in mind (NIH and  NSF  examples will be highlighted, but your proposal possibilities and funder can vary)
  • Expect rigorous reviews and feedback on your writing. Expect your writing and thinking to be constructively criticized. It’s an interactive and fruitful process
  • The bootcamp is capped at 20 people

Grant Writing for Science

In a four-part series hosted by Dr. Morgan Giddings of SciFoundry, participants will learn the four steps to funding which cover topics such as deciphering your reviewer’s interests, crafting a compelling grant project proposal, highlighting the strengths of your team, and outlining the effective execution of your proposed work to bolster your overall proposal.

  • The Four Steps to Funding Part 1: What is the 'Why' that gets your reviewer interested and excited to support your proposal for funding?
    Tuesday, March 19, 2024
    Recording and Resources

What gets your reviewer interested and excited to support your proposal for funding? In this first of the four-part series, we’ll go into the "why(s)" of your proposal, and whether those will connect with your reviewer in a positive way, or not.

  • The Four Steps to Funding Part 2: What makes a great grant project? Does it have solid rigor and premise? 
    Thursday, March 21, 2024
    Recording and Resources

The “what” is the heart of your proposal - what project you are proposing to do. It will determine whether reviewers are excited or unsupportive of your funding. Learn how to build and write the What with a clear premise and sufficient rigor, so you can get reviewers excited about your project. 

  • The Four Steps to Funding Part 3: Who is the team behind the execution? Is it convincing? 
    Tuesday, April 9th, 2024
    Recording and Resources

Your reviewer and funder cares deeply about "who" they are supporting for funding. Are they confident that you can do the work proposed, and handle challenges or roadblocks when they arise? Learn how to convey your powerful “who,” going far beyond just the Biosketches or CV’s. 

  • The Four Steps to Funding Part 4:How will the proposed research be effectively executed? Is it realistic? 
    Tuesday, April 11, 2024
    Recording and Resources

It’s tempting to start your proposal first with the question of “how will I do the work/experiments.” Yet if you don’t carefully align the How with the rest of the proposal, it will come across as confusing, leading to no funding. Learn how to construct your "how(s)" to align with and support the rest of your proposal, for the highest chances of funding. 

   SCIENCE LEADERSHIP
A photograph of Dr. Sam Krahl, who will facilitate the webinar series, posing for a ‘headshot’ photograph in front of a dark background. Sam is smiling and is dressed in a dark brown-green sports jacket and green polo shirt. He is wearing blue-framed glasses, has short-cropped brown hair, and a full beard with grey in it. In this photograph he is in his early forties. He looks pretty friendly, if a bit posed!
In a three-part series hosted by Dr. Sam Krahl of EMBO Solutions, participants will gain the basics of lab leadership, discuss approaches to conflict management and team communication, and review the introductory principles of negotiation. The sessions will be a mixture of seminar style presentations, with space for reflection and questions around the discussed concepts.


Introduction to Lab Leadership
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Recording and Resources

In this 90-minute course, you’ll be introduced to the key concepts in EMBO’s Lab Leadership training. We’ll provide an overview on how to support your people to produce their best work, while taking care of their needs and development. 


Understanding Conflict Management and Communication
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Recording Coming Soon

With shifting dynamics and intensely pressured projects, our teams can face moments of conflict. In this 90-minute session you’ll learn how to approach the conflicts within your lab with clear and empathetic communication that can support resolution.


Introductory Principles of Negotiation
9:00am PT - 10:30am PT
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Register Here

Negotiation is not about winning and losing, it is about finding a way to aid one another to achieve the things we seek on both sides. Through this session you’ll learn how to approach negotiations in a way that maintains positive relationships with your peers, colleagues, and collaborators.

Session Learning Outcomes: 

  • Learn how to explain to another party what you want, while seeking to understand their interests so you can find a mutually beneficial solution.
  • Practice building a negotiation roadmap that itemizes the components of the agreement that are meaningful to you and outlines the parameters on what you are looking to achieve.


 EMBO Laboratory Leadership
 
A photograph of Dr. Sam Krahl, who will facilitate the webinar series, posing for a ‘headshot’ photograph in front of a dark background. Sam is smiling and is dressed in a dark brown-green sports jacket and green polo shirt. He is wearing blue-framed glasses, has short-cropped brown hair, and a full beard with grey in it. In this photograph he is in his early forties. He looks pretty friendly, if a bit posed!
EMBO Natalie Bamford

The "EMBO Laboratory Leadership” course will explore your approach to leadership and help you define how you want to lead and manage your research group or other teams. The course is hosted by Dr. Sam Krahl and Dr. Natalie Bamford of EMBO Solutions, and is free of charge for participants.

First Offering: July 10 - July 12, 2024
Second Offering: September 16 - September 18, 2024

Daily from 8am-2pm Pacific Time
Virtual Zoom Meeting held in English

APPLY HERE
Application Portal Open Now - June 7 at 5 PM Pacific Time

The course is focused on your leadership and the strategies and tools needed to run a productive research group. As you work to define your leadership style in this context, the course will provide insight into how to cultivate positive relationships, how teams work best together, and how to identify and resolve interpersonal barriers to the effective conduct of research. Throughout the course, the trainers will offer tools, techniques, and insights tailored specifically to the laboratory/research setting for the leadership of people, good communication, healthy resolution of conflict, and the management of workloads and responsibilities.

Each module begins with an introduction from the trainers, followed by the use of a range of interactive tools – both in self-reflection and in small group breakout activities – to integrate examples, experiences, and ideas from participants into the learning environment.  

To keep the learning environment to an effective size for collaboration and support, we will be admitting participants through an application process. The application portal will be open until June 7 at 5 PM Pacific Time. Apply as soon as possible; applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Admitted applicants will be notified no later than June 18, 2024.

Eligibility & Expectations

  • Full three-day course attendance and interaction in discussions and breakouts are expected from all participants; including any homework
  • The course will require your full focus and it will not be possible to pay attention to your other responsibilities and duties during the course hours on the three days of training
  • Participants will need a web camera, microphone, and a quiet place with reliable internet from which to attend the course
  • The course is designed for those in leadership roles, from postdocs to early career PIs (within 6 years of your first independent position) 
  • Participants must be a CZI Science grantee, either funded directly or on a team and/or group member of a grantee, or a collaborator of CZI Science
  • The course is capped at 20 people
  FACULTY APPLICATION BOOTCAMP 
Chris Golde
Arne Bakker

This summer, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is hosting the fourth edition of our virtual Faculty Application Bootcamp. This bootcamp is for PhD students and postdocs from CZI-supported and associated labs pursuing a US-based faculty position this academic year. 

August 12 - 16, 2024 - Daily from 8am-2pm Pacific Time
Virtual Zoom Meeting held in English

APPLY HERE
Application Portal Open Until Wednesday, June 12th, 5:00 PM Pacific Time

The CZI Faculty Application Bootcamp will give a systematic overview of all aspects of the faculty job search in the United States. Topics will cover CVs and cover letters, research, teaching and diversity statements, job and chalk talks, and interviewing and negotiating.

This practical and experiential course also includes small group exercises and stories from those who recently completed a successful search. Primary instructors are Chris Golde (Stanford University) and Arne Bakker (CZI), with additional guest presenters. Review the draft course schedule here.

The application portal remains open until 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Wednesday, June 12th. Apply as soon as possible; applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Admitted applicants will be notified no later than July 1, 2024.

Eligibility & Expectations

  • Full course attendance is expected from all participants
  • Applications are open to doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars from research labs who are currently supported by or associated with a CZI grant, or those associated with the CZ Biohub Network
  • Eligibility is limited to those who are actively planning to enter the faculty job market during the 2024-2025 academic year. It is not meant for those planning to apply in later years
  • The course is capped at 60 people
  • Please note: international scholars are welcome to apply, but the course will focus primarily on the U.S. faculty job market
   PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR SCIENTISTS 
Lou Woodley
CAMILLE SANTISTEVAN

This fall we are offering a four-part Project Management for Scientists training. The limited-capacity course will be hosted by Lou Woodley and Camille Santistevan of Center for Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement. Training will be on a weekly basis, including a two-hour class and select homework each week.  

Save the Course Dates: October 30; November 6; November 13; November 20, 2024
Application portal will open in September 2024

2023 Central Science Training Series

Catch up on our 2023 training series with the recordings and resources. Check out the details on each series below and our Wistia page for all video content.

SCIENCE LEADERSHIP SERIES

This three part series will cover introductory skills that will help you understand your own leadership style and the essentials to  preparing and designing a successful science collaboration. 

GRANT WRITING FOR SCIENCE SERIES

In a two part series hosted by Dr. Morgan Giddings of SciFoundry, participants learned the connection between their science, their writing, their skills and their community and how to develop all of these aspects in a grant proposal that is engaging and a strong candidate for funding.

  • A Roadmap to Science Grant Proposal Success: The Critical Path Method  (Part 1), Hosted on June 14, 2023
  • A Roadmap to Science Grant Proposal Success: The Critical Path Method  (Part 2), Hosted on June 16, 2023

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION SERIES

This three part series, hosted by Dr. Thi Nguyen, focused on how to increase your communication skills, covering the basics of giving a scientific talk, tailoring your message for different audiences, and building the confidence you need to speak in any context. 

  • SciComms 101: Anatomy of a Scientific Talk, Hosted on September 13, 2023
  • Tailoring Your Message for Specific Audiences, Hosted on September 27, 2023
  • How to Gain Confidence in Public Speaking, Hosted on October 11, 2023

HOW TO BE A STRATEGIC LAB LEADER 

This four-part series, hosted by Dr. Thi Nguyen, explores the principles of setting strategy as an early career investigator, and is designed to facilitate execution of your strategic plan. The workshop helps to create a strategic plan that incorporates your research, service, and mentoring priorities while considering your well-being. 

Single-Cell Biology

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TRAINING SERIES - 2023

A three part series, hosted by Shanell Williams of the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative, to help researchers establish collaborative research priorities, form Community Advisory Boards, and disseminate your research with a broad scope of audiences.

  • Research Priority Setting by Affected Communities (RPAC), Hosted on April 11, 2023
  • Community Advisory Board Formation 101, Hosted on May 9, 2023
  • Creative and Effective Dissemination: Showcasing the Voices for Birth Justice platform and campaign, Hosted on September 12, 2023


FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - 2022

Through our 2022 three-part virtual training series, hosted by Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, we offered grantees and their teams the opportunity to grow and sharpen their skills around community engagement and supported an environment where researchers and communities of color and historically marginalized communities can seamlessly work together. 

  • Fundamentals of Community Engagement Part 1 - Frameworks, Hosted on September 7, 2022
  • Fundamentals of Community Engagement Part 2 - Authentic Partnerships, Hosted on September 21, 2022
  • Fundamentals of Community Engagement Part 3 - Sustainability, Hosted on October 5, 2022

2022 Central Science Training Series Resources

  • Principles of Leadership, Interpersonal Communication & Giving Feedback
    Hosted by Dr. Sam Krahl of EMBO Solutions on May 17, 2022
    Resources
  • Building Effective Teams & Delegating for Productivity and Skills Development
    Hosted by Dr. Sam Krahl of EMBO Solutions on May 31, 2022
    Resources
  • Understanding and Managing Conflict & Inclusive Values That Support Diversity in Teams
    Hosted by Dr. Sam Krahl of EMBO Solutions on  June 13, 2022
    Resources
  • Effective Mentorship in STEMM: What’s Cultural Diversity Got to Do With It
    Hosted by Dr. Angela Byars-Winston on June 27, 2022
    Resources
  • Fundamentals of Community Engagement
    Hosted by Community-Campus Partnerships for Health on July 11, 2022
    Resources
  • Open Science Participation: From Research Scientists to the General Public
    Hosted by Kate Hertweck, PhD, CZI on July 26, 2022
    Recording and Resources
  • The Basics Of Science Communication Skills: Telling Your Story to Effectively Engage Your Audience
    Hosted by Dr. Jonathan Garlick on September 28, 2022
    Recording and Resources
  • Share Your Research: How To Give a Good Talk
    Hosted by Dr. Thi Nguyen, Science Communication Lab, on October 12, 2022
    Recording and Resources
  • Principles and Strategies for Culturally Relevant Science Communication
    Hosted by Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer, Ciencia Puerto Rico, on October 19, 2022
    Recording and Resources
  • Sensemaking: Evidence-Based Strategies For Your Science Communication
    Hosted by Liz Neeley, Liminal, on October 26, 2022
    Recording and Resources

Additional Resources

General Capacity Building Partners' Trainings

  • To help support the CZI community working tirelessly to achieve their goals, become more resilient, and respond to unfolding crises, we've assembled a collection of expert trainings valuable to grantees and their partners across CZI portfolio areas. In these sessions, expert trainers will provide advice on how to best approach these challenges, teach new skills and practices, and answer questions that you and your community may have. Sign Up for General Capacity Building Partners' Newsletters 

2021 Science Trainings

  • Check out our Wistia page for previous MCB Science trainings. 

Open Science Resources Website

  • This publicly available resource, supported by the CZI Open Science program, features information on applying open science approaches specifically catered to our biomedical research community. The site contains videos that are also available on the CZI Open Science Resources Channel.