Research Proposal in Cell Physiology

Guidelines for Writing a Research Proposal

You will write a research grant proposal in Cell Physiology.The proposal is to be submitted as a Word document titled with your name and uploaded onto Moodle.The proposal will be orally defended to determine the remaining 10% of the grade during Dr. Rakobowchuk’s Office hours until the end of the exam period.Your research proposal may be on any topic within the realm of Cell Physiology that you wish to write about. Often this topic is related to a disease, treatment or manipulation at the cellular level.You should cite many primary (experimental research) papers one of which must be a recent original research article (published after May, 2018).

With regard to organization, your proposal should be subdivided into at least these major sections: Backgroud of the proposed area of research Specific research question(s) to be assessed Methods used to evaluate the research question Expected outcomes of the research Benefits of the research to the broader research community Plan for dissemination and outreach In order to enhance the readability of the propsal, the major sections should be further subdivided into subsections. Figures or Tables present in your paper should include a title, a legend and a citation. Figures and Tables should stand alone (understanbable without reference to the body of the text). For further guidelines regarding the style or organization of your paper refer to a recent scientific review article and/or Northey and Von Aderkas’ book entitled Making Sense: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing.

A referencing style of your choosing can be used either based on a journal format or a referencing guide. A succinct and concise paper is expected of 2000 words without references (figure captions also do not count). Do not exceed this limit as a penalty of 10% per 100 words above this length will be deducted. Proposals receiving an “A” grade are very well written (grammatically flawless) and integrate the information from more than 15 current original primary research papers within the background section. The proposed work should involve experimental methods that are clearly described, detailed enough to enable the reader to replicate experiments, and explained so that the reader understands why that particular methodology is being used. One should also detail the number of animal, cell line replicates, or participants required to adequately assess the research question.

The dissemination section will detail both relevant academic and lay person audiences and where the work would be presented or published. The outreach is a creative aspect of the proposal that involves disseminating the research to a general audience in science or the community. For example, community evnt presentations, blog/website, youtube video etc. may be proposed and detailed.

- I have guarded against plagiarizing any of my sources.

- I have cited at least one original research article (from May, 2015 or later).

- I have used headings in my paper.

-I have edited the paper for its readability.

-I have used spell check on the paper.

- I have used the grammar check on the paper.