“In 2019, we applied for a five-year renewal of NIH funding. Michael, who is quite knowledgeable on the intricacies and nuances of federal grant application processes, worked assiduously with me and other Center leaders to put together our successful application. His organizational, administrative, and writing skills were indispensable to our success. He was always available and his advice was always spot on.”
Dr. Victor Henderson, Professor, Stanford
“Mike’s help was phenomenal. He made the toughest tasks easy. We would not have been able to successfully get the award without him. Plus he is such a calm and nice guy!”
Dr. Jeffrey Glenn, Professor, Stanford
“Mike Helms helped us put together large, complicated grant proposals with multiple centers and faculty. He was incredibly helpful with organization (e.g., “herding cats”), dealing with complicated rules, assembling the needed documents, and even reworking the proposals. Absolutely top rate work, and I’d give him my top recommendation”
Dr. Mark Hlatky, Professor, Stanford
“Michael is an exceptional professional. He was invaluable to our recent grant applications. He is amazing to work with.”
Dr. Nolan Williams, Assistant Professor, Stanford University
“I have worked with Michael for several years, first in the Department of Anesthesiology and then in the School of Medicine at Stanford University. Michael was instrumental in my obtaining my current NIH funding. He is insightful and skilled in guiding the best funding opportunities.”
Dr. David Drover, Professor, Stanford
“Our department strategic research management director refused to answer questions about whether our research idea was appropriate for several funding opportunities we were considering and discouraged our application. At that time, we reached out to Michael Helms who had previously worked in our department to ask for his advice. In contrast, Michael was enthusiastic and supportive. He helped us choose the correct FOA, tailor our ideas to fit the funding opportunity, and gave us feedback on structuring our grant proposal. His deep knowledge of the NIH process was obvious. He also detailed next steps for us to contact the correct individuals at the NIH to further ensure we were hitting the mark for the funding opportunity. We are proud to say that our grant was successfully funded this year and he was instrumental in helping us craft our initial ideas toward the FOA. He would be incredibly valuable to any department helping to move research forward and supporting faculty to find funding for their research.”
Dr. Sarah Eagleman, Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford
“Michael Helms was a joy to work with on multiple occasions over the past several years. I was referred to his office of Grant Development in the School of Medicine and we worked together on two very high-profile project grant submissions first in 2016 then in 2019. This included a gigantic effort to submit a so-called P30 center grant proposal to the US National Institutes of Health to support our diabetes center. Mike had a central role in coordinating our writing and data tables, and I could not have submitted the proposal without his help. I am happy to say this was funded – the first time Stanford has had a P30-supported diabetes center since the medical school was founded in 1959! More recently, in 2019 we submitted a pancreas cancer P01 center proposal (with me as co-director) and recently received a fundable score! This too was an enormous effort. This second center, focused on pancreatic cancer, is also one that Stanford Medical School has never had. I could go on and on but the bottom line is that Mike is a gem, has unique skills, and some one (if I had the resources) I would hire right away. I am more than happy to write more on his behalf, upon request. He will raise the performance of any institution he serves.”
Dr. Seung Kim, Professor, Stanford
“Michael was a wonderful person to work with. He always showed the highest level of professionalism in his work and at the same time he was very kind and personable. He has a great deal of knowledge and extensive experience when it comes to grant writing and editing. He was extremely helpful in his review of our proposals and always had great insights and suggestions for improvement. He is very detail oriented and was also very prompt in his feedback and overall guidance. I highly recommend Michael for anyone looking for professional assistance with grants, writing, etc.”
Cindy L., Program Manager, Stanford
“Without Michael’s support we would not have scored a 12 on our K12 application. He was also instrumental with the P30 application. These are both high impact grants for Stanford.”
Dr. David Maahs, Professor, Stanford
“Dr. Helms has deep insights on both grantsmanship and the mechanics of writing and submitting grants to federal agencies. Dr. Helms played a pivotal role in sharing grant writing best practices and keeping us current on the latest policies. He worked collaboratively and showed a high degree of professionalism throughout his interactions. Dr. Helms was an invaluable member of our grant writing team.”
Dr. Manpreet S., Associate Professor, Stanford
“Michael was a fantastic facilitator, guide and collaborator. I enjoyed working with him on the submission of an NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award. Michael provided invaluable contributions to our proposal including feedback on the “big picture” and smaller (but critical) details.”
Dr. Jennifer Bruno, Research Scientist, Stanford
“An incredible, open-minded researcher and administrator who added great value to the submission of our grants. He is very knowledgeable and professional. He was crucial to the success of our grant submissions.”
Dr. Emmanuel Mignot, Professor, Stanford
“Dr. Helms collaborated on several of my successful grant applications at Stanford. He significantly strengthened the competitiveness of grants with his strong grantwriting, critical assessment of scientific thought, and advice for navigating the peer-review process. His work has increased the awarded “hit-rate” of grant applications, and the total amount of grant funding secured for scientific work.”
Dr. Jarred Younger, Associate Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham
“I’ve known Dr. Helms for many years while at Stanford. I have increasing respect for his skills, professionalism, and expertise in procuring grant funding. I’ve worked with him on several projects and admired his project management skills and most importantly, his ability to get things done. He’s managed teams quite well working with a diverse interdisciplinary group of people. Mike is responsive and skilled in working under pressure with tight deadlines. I have valued my interactions with him and know that he will bring similar value to any group lucky to work with him.”
Dr. Sean Mackey MD, PhD, Professor, Stanford