This repository contains a generative AI grant drafting tool that assists users in drafting grant applications for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The tool consists of three different parts, each serving a specific function in the grant writing process.

1. Search and Compare Tool: This tool interfaces with NIH-RePORTER, a database of NIH-funded research projects, to provide users with a curated list of successfully funded grants related to the idea provided. Users can search for specific keywords or topics and compare the outcomes of different projects to gain insights and inspiration for their own grant applications.

2. Specific Aims Page Drafter: The specific aims page is a crucial component of a grant application that outlines the objectives and expected outcomes of the proposed research. This feature accepts specific aims input from the user and uses generative AI techniques to generate a draft summary page for the grant application. It helps users articulate their research goals effectively.

3. Sub-Section Drafting Tool: Writing various sections of a grant application can be time-consuming and challenging. This tool provides a streamlined approach to drafting key sections such as significance, innovation, approach, rigor, and preliminary data. Users can input their ideas, and the generative AI assists in generating well-structured drafts that adhere to NIH guidelines and best practices.

The application was built and tested in a Windwos Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) environment. The software should work in either a WSL2 or Linux environment. If you are using a Linux environment, skip the installation steps for WSL2. While it is possible to get this tool to work without all these steps, we highly encourage users to install WSL2, Docker, and VSCode for the optimal experience using this software.

Follow the instructions for installing WSL2.

Additionally, you may want to follow the instructions for our recommended usage of git in WSL2.

Follow the instructions for installing Docker from the MLOps Template repository Wiki.

Follow the instructions for installing VSCode from the MLOps Template repository Wiki.

Note - This tool is not designed to provide final drafts of grant proposal or allow researchers to not validate their research idea and study design. Drafts submitted directly from this tool without thorough revision will have a near zero chance of being funded.

Once the environment is setup, follow these steps to access this generative AI grant drafting tool:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/UABPeriopAI/Grant_Guide.git

2. Navigate to the directory and open VSCode with

code .

3. Make sure that the dev container extension is installed in VSCode by going to the Extensions Tab (left-most portion of the user interface

4. Run the tool by executing the appropriate scripts for each of the three features. See the documentation within each directory for detailed instructions.

5. Link a data drive in the .devcontainer/devcontainer.json file

6. Connect your LLM endpoint

• The LLM enpoint configuration can be found in Grant_Guide/Grant_Guide_config/config.py and the variables that require updating include the EMBEDDINGS and CHAT.

7. Setup a sectrets.toml file in the streamlit folder (i.e., .streamlit/secrets.toml.) The secrets has supportive code to properly handle sensitive information like passwords and access keys. The fields our tool uses and that will need to be populated for the tool to work with minimal modification include:

db_server = ""
db_name = ""
db_user = ""
db_password = ""
openai_api_key = ""
gpt4_api_key = ""

Run the application with the following command:

streamlit run streamlit/Grant_Guide_app.py

In this case, use .streamlit/secrets.toml for secrets

• specify a data folder location in .devcontainer/devcontainer.json
• add LLM end-point (e.g., ChatGPT API), including necessary API Key (config.py)

We welcome contributions to enhance and improve the generative AI grant drafting tool. If you'd like to contribute, please follow these guidelines:

• Fork the repository and create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
• Make your changes and ensure they adhere to the project's coding style.
• Write tests for your code and ensure they pass.
• Open a pull request and provide a detailed explanation of your changes.

This project is licensed under a GPL License

We would like to acknowledge the following resources and libraries that have contributed to the development of this grant drafting tool:

NIH-RePORTER OpenAI GPT

Please feel free to contact us regarding the repo at [email protected] and/or [email protected]

NOTE: The NIH has expressed concern that generative AI increases the likelihood of academic misconduct. You are ultimately responsible for any content you use.