Proven NIH/NICHD R21 or R03 Grant Advisor Needed for Be BiteSmart℠ Child Safety Videos

About CCBS / Be BiteSmart℠

The Center for Canine Behavior Studies, Inc. d/b/a Be BiteSmart℠ is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit co-founded by Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman and Chris P. Janelli.

Be BiteSmart℠ (BeBiteSmart.org) is the pediatric dog-bite prevention education initiative of the Center for Canine Behavior Studies, Inc. It develops evidence-informed education to help reduce pediatric dog bites by teaching children, parents, and caregivers to recognize canine body language, avoid unsafe interactions, and respond appropriately before risk escalates.

Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, BVMS, DACVB, DACVAA, is Professor Emeritus at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, founder of the Tufts Animal Behavior Clinic, and one of the world’s leading veterinary behaviorists.

Volunteer Role

We are seeking a proven NIH/NICHD grant advisor with demonstrated success preparing, advising on, and securing funded R21 and/or R03 grants.

This is not a general grant-writing request. We need an experienced NIH/NICHD advisor who can guide all aspects of preparing CCBS/Be BiteSmart℠ for an R21 or R03 funding pathway, including grant strategy, Specific Aims development, program-officer fit inquiry, academic research partner structure, application planning, submission strategy, and post-review response or resubmission strategy if needed.

The immediate objective is to determine whether Paws to Prevent, Be BiteSmart’s animated education series for children ages 3–5 and their parents, can be positioned for NIH/NICHD funding as a parent-mediated pediatric injury-prevention intervention.

Project Background

A prior NIH/NICHD-funded study, Teaching Children and Parents to Understand Dog Signaling by Kerstin Meints, Victoria Brelsford, and Tiny De Keuster, published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science in 2018, showed that children ages 3–5 and parents could be taught through video-based instruction to better recognize canine distress and warning signals, with learning effects that endured over time.

Study link:

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00257/full

NIH/NICHD summary:

https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/010719-dog-distress-signals

Paws to Prevent builds on that proof of principle through a developmentally appropriate animated video series for preschool children and their parents. CCBS/Be BiteSmart℠ is already in production and expects to have several completed videos within the next few months.

The grant question is whether NIH/NICHD support could help refine, pilot-test, evaluate, and measure the effectiveness of the series through an R21 or R03 pathway, with an academic research partner to be determined.

Required Experience

Applicants must have proven NIH/NICHD grant success, including demonstrated experience preparing, advising on, and helping secure funded R21 and/or R03 grants.

Experience with child development, pediatric injury prevention, parent-child learning, behavioral intervention, educational media evaluation, health behavior, or public health is strongly preferred.

How to Apply

Please include:

• • Your NIH/NICHD grant experience
  • Your experience with funded R21 and/or R03 grants
  • Your specific role in prior applications
  • Any relevant background in child development, pediatric injury prevention, educational media, behavioral intervention, or nonprofit-academic research partnerships
  • Résumé, LinkedIn profile, or short professional bio