Biographical Sketch (Biosketch)

For application due dates on or after January 25, 2026, NIH requires the use of the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement. All forms must be prepared, certified, and generated through SciENcv.

There are two sections for Biosketches to be uploaded in ASSIST:

• PD/PI and Senior/Key Personnel Biosketches
  • Upload in R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded)
    • Each biosketch must be generated and certified in SciENcv.
    • PD/PI(s)
    • Senior/Key Personnel
    • Do not add participating biosketch mentors as key personnel
  • Participating Faculty Biosketches
    • Program Plan, Attachment #7 – Participating Faculty Biosketches
      • Include all participating faculty/mentors required by the funding opportunity.
      • Each biosketch must be generated and certified in SciENcv.
      • Before combining you will need to flatten each biosketch.
      • Arrange biosketches in alphabetical order by last name.
      • Combine into a single PDF.
      • Submit the final combined PDF in ASSIST as a flattened PDF.

Writing Guidance:

Faculty may use the personal statement section to describe activities related to:

• Narrative discussion only.
• Training, mentoring, and promoting an inclusive and supportive scientific environment.
• Training in rigorous and unbiased experimental design, methodology, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of results.
• Supporting trainees as they transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce.
• Helping trainees complete their Ph.D. degrees in a timely manner.
• Teaching trainees to conduct research with increasing responsibility and self-direction.
• Citations are not permitted in the Personal Statement section.
• Maximum length: 3,500 characters.

Important Notes:

All individuals completing NIH Common Forms must:

• Link their ORCID iD to their eRA Commons account.
• Verify that the ORCID iD appears in the Persistent Identifier (PID) section of the Common Form.

Complete and Certify Forms in SciENcv

• NIH requires use of SciENcv to prepare the Biographical Sketch Common Form and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement.
• Delegates may assist with data entry; however, only the individual investigator can certify their forms.
• SciENcv generates a single certified PDF containing both the Common Form and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement
• NIH instructs applicants to combine all participating faculty biosketches into a single PDF for submission within the Participating Faculty Biosketch attachment.
• Faculty biosketches included in this attachment must be completed and certified individually in SciENcv prior to combining into a single PDF

Resources

• NOT-OD-26-018
• NIH Common Forms Website
• SciENcv
• Recent Training on SciENcv