In this episode, we take a deep dive into the life of a researcher. We've invited Dr. Jeffrey Sparks to share with us how he ended up as an R01 independent researcher. We'll learn how the sausage is made, as they say, of a successful grant submission. Jeff will share with us how he became interested in research, the skills he gained along the way, how mentors were necessary for his success, and he explains the alphabet soup of NIH grants. He also discusses the 20 medals that he has hanging on the wall of his office.