Timeline research

Cervantes, E. A., Miller, W. R., Tonigan, J. S. (1994). Comparison of Timeline Follow-Back and averaging methods for quantifying alcohol consumption in treatment research. Assessment, l, 23-30. 

Main area Research priorities Timeline 0 5 10 years... 

Intellectual merit is also based on the credibility of your work plan, including both the proposed research methods and projected timeline. To be credible,... 

A convenient way to summarize the more tangible accomplishments of your work is to present them in a timeline. Recall the specific-achievable-measurable (SAM) test for research objectives introduced in chapter 12 a timeline helps reviewers (and you) evaluate whether your project goals are achievable within the funding period. The start of this move is usually demarked with a level 1 heading. Common headings for move 1 are shown in table 14.1. 

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE EOR NEAR-TERM RESEARCH OBJECTIVES... 

Timelines can also be portrayed in charts or figures, as illustrated in excerpt 14D. In fact, charts and figures represent excellent ways to illustrate how smaller, individual projects contribute to larger research goals and how smaller projects complement one another and overlap in time. (Note In excerpt 14D, Kohen uses the following abbreviations in his chart, each defined previously in the proposal hydrogen (H), tritium (T), deuterium (D), kinetic isotope effect (KIE), dihydrofolate reductase (a relatively small protein) (DHFR), and wild type (WT).)... 

Draft a timeline for your proposed research. Decide if you want to present your timeline in running prose, as a list, or as a graphic (chart or figure). Include a heading for your timeline. 

Figure 2.2. Timeline of fast-track development of an HIV protease inhibitor, indinavir Crixivan) by Merck through a project research team approach. Adapted from Merck s account on Crixivan development.

The reason I include this seemingly irrelevant chapter in this book is because it is important. What are the factors that make a software project succeed One could say the project has to provide good business values. In addition, the project team has to be technically competent. Although these factors are all necessary for the project to succeed, they are not sufficient. Especially for a software project that has some level of complexity, tight timelines, and resource constraints, a good development process is also critical. Unless your development process is ad hoc, most likely you will use either the waterfall or the iterative development process. Many researchers show that the latter is a much better choice than the former, and many thoughtful leaders advocate its use in most software development projects. 

Another way to control costs and reap higher profits, besides improving the statistics for a novel pharmaceutical hit by mergers and consolidations, lies in accelerating research and development through the six phases delineated in Table 13.2. Figure 13.4 illustrates the consequences of a faster development pace by comparing the traditional timeline with the novel, accelerated pace. 

Figure 15.33 A subjective timeline showing some of the key developments in carbon nanotube research.

Unfortunately, in many milestone plans, especially in research, we see huge overconfidence in the original estimate of time requirements. This initial overconfidence can be attributed to two factors time pressure and personal frame of reference. If the talk around the water cooler claims that no project with a total timeline of more than two years will be funded, no milestone plans longer than that will be submitted, even if more time is realistically necessary. If the typical time a bench scientist needs for promotion to a management role is five years on average, milestone plans will not extend beyond two to three years. Accordingly, if all research steps have to fit this short time span, project planners will decide to set shorter individual milestones than are actually required. Little wonder that projects are abandoned prematurely or project overruns compared to originally expected timelines are so common. 

Shorter discovery timelines and accelerated development expectations have hindered the traditional approaches for natural products research. Furthermore, emphasis on chemical diversity presents a great challenge in this area, particularly because traditional natural products screening programs focus on one source of chemical diversity such as microorganisms or plants. Still, the primary issue remains how to assay this ideal source of new, biologically active compounds within the current timeframe necessary for modern drug discovery research. At the heart of this issue is the fact that traditional isolation and scale-up procedures are inefficient and often become the bottleneck in natural products dereplication. 

Many proactive QA measures can and should be installed during all phases of clinical trial activities, such as ensuring that assays used throughout the trials are properly developed and used clinical trial materials are adequately manufactured, packaged, and labeled appropriate communication between research personnel and other clinical departments is maintained and most important, creativity and flexibility are balanced with reasonable drug development timelines. 

Apart from development of new catalysts with enhanced activity, few processes with innovative chemistry are currently developed for C-H transformation in aromatics. Though new processes using cheaper raw materials or reducing the number of reaction steps may seem attractive at first glance, efforts for process development including research, scale-up, pilot plant, and timeline must be considered. Especially for large scale-synthesis of bulk chemicals process economics... 

Monitoring the status of research studies to ensure that they are being conducted according to the timeline and critical path in the development plan and, if appropriate, modifying the plan as new information becomes available... 

Comparing research results and development status and timelines with drug candidates under development by competitors... 

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