RED Writing Group

In the RED Writing Group program, a small group of up 5 to 8 UM employees will take a scientific writing course together over the course of a semester and conduct research together on a unified topic using a secondary dataset leading to collaborative peer-reviewed publications within a year. These publications will establish a history of collaboration that will make joint grant proposals from these faculty more compelling and competitive.

For the 2025 cohort, common data will be the dataset from the All of Us research project. The group will be led by John C. Higginbotham, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development.

Who May Apply?

This program is for UM faculty and staff whose roles may include publishing peer-reviewed articles.

Additionally, applicants must:

• have attended one of Dr. Higginbotham’s talks on “Writing for Peer Reviewed Scientific Publication,”
• demonstrate an in interest in collaborating with faculty (from other departments) with whom they have never collaborated before
• demonstrate an interest to conduct and publish research that makes use of the All of Us dataset, AND
• commit to meet at the designated time each month in the designated semester for instruction and discussion. (We will schedule the meetings around the teaching schedules of the selected cohort members.)

How to Apply?

After consulting with their departmental chair and determining that they are supportive, applicants for the spring semester should submit their applications using this form no later than November 15. The application will ask for:

• General info about the applicant (contact info, department, appointment title, etc.)
• A general statement of research and collaboration interest
• A general statement of interest in, and ability to make use of, the All of Us dataset
• Whether or not you’ve already registered and been approved to use the All of Us Research Workbench
• A biosketch. (NIH format or NSF format is preferred. If you have questions about preparing your biosketch, consult your unit’s assigned ORSP pre-award research administrator.)
• Potential grant funding opportunities for your research
• Your spring teaching schedule

How will Participants be Selected?

After vetting your application for completeness and verifying with your chair and Dean or ADR that they support your application, we will select the group we think will have the best potential to collaborate and publish together, considering the following:

• New collaboration potential (we are especially interested in new collaborations among individuals with promising publication records)
• Departmental diversity (we are especially interested in a diverse representation of departments)
• Potential to make use of the All of Us dataset
• Strength of schedule (the cohort all need to be available at the same time every week with Dr. H.)
• Preference will be given to assistant professors who meet the criteria above; however, other faculty and also staff are welcome to apply, and will be considered for inclusion of their are slots remaining.

Applicants might be asked to attend in-person discussions if we think they will help us select a team with strong promise to publish together and compete for grants together.

We aim to have the cohort selection finalized and communicated before the winter break.

Questions?

For questions about the program intent, you may email Dr. Higginbotham and copy Jason Hale.
For technical questions such as process or how to use the application form, please contact Jason.