Regarding the 5 page research proposal, I am attempting to balance the importance of background material and discussion of relevance, versus experimental detail. What are your guidelines?
A. There are no rigid guidelines beyond what is in our instructions. You should choose a balance appropriate for your project, assuming that the application will be read by an expert in your field, broadly defined (such as neuroscience, structural biology or developmental biology), but not necessarily by someone who knows the detailed topic of your research. Q. The instructions state, “Do not include your prospective supervisor as a reference”. My prospective supervisor knows me unusually well, however, as a result of previous collaboration. I think it would be unfortunate not to have him or her recommend my candidacy. A. Your prospective supervisor may include in their sponsor’s letter anything he or she wishes to comment about you and your work, but because of the potential for conflict of interest, we focus more on the evaluation of the other 4 references . We still require 4 other reference letters, one of which should be from your thesis advisor.
