ABSTRACT

We are living in the era of biotechnology revolution. To many molecular biologists, the ±ood of new bioinformation is particularly overwhelming. How can one catch up, update new biotechnology, and use the most recent, proven techniques for a novel research? As indicated in the Preface, one of the aims of this book is to provide investigators with tools for molecular biology research. Perhaps because every single organism depends on molecular actions for survival, molecular biology research becomes more and more dominant in multiple disciplines.1-21 In fact, it is a general tendency that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other funding agencies award grants with high priority to those research proposals that use molecular biology approaches. Given the fact that research funding resources are quite limited, that funding budget is decreasing and that the number of research proposals rapidly increases year after year, the fundamental question is how one can bring $$$ to his research? One strategy is to write an excellent proposal using molecular biology tools. Nonetheless, what catches your eyes in view of research projects and funding resources? How does one grasp research problems and march toward a new direction? How does one write an important and scienti„cally sound research proposal with new ideas, comprehensive designs, and methodologies? What is your research plan and where do you start? These questions may be particularly obvious to an investigator who does not have much experience in molecular biology research. This chapter can provide some insights and ideas that may be helpful to your novel research projects and obtain potential funding.