Biochemistry Research and Opportunity Endowment

Funds distributed from this endowment (approximately $5000 per year) shall be used to provide support for faculty-mentored undergraduate research or experiential learning opportunities that combine the fields of Biology and Chemistry. This support is intended for students majoring or minoring in Biology and/or Chemistry, including funding for lab supplies and equipment needed for research with these students. Faculty and students from the departments of Biology and Chemistry are encouraged to work collaboratively on the use of this fund.

Award: $500-$4000, to be spent within the fiscal year of the award. Applications will typically be solicited from students and their faculty mentors in the fall semester.

Proposals must address biochemistry-oriented problems or questions and should support, expand, and/or enable undergraduate research in this area. Proposals that blur traditional departmental boundaries and/or that support or seed new collaborative projects from Biology and Chemistry labs are especially encouraged. Potential uses of the funding include an undergraduate summer stipend and/or equipment/supplies that are justified in the proposal as having a direct impact on the proposed research of the student applicant(s).

To apply for this fund, the faculty mentor(s) should submit the following documentation as a single PDF to the Chair of their respective department:

Brief description of the research project along with figures, tables, and bibliography as appropriate (maximum of 2 pages in total). This project description should be written by the student(s) in consultation with the faculty advisor(s) and be crafted around the student’s particular research question. Applications that exceed this page limit will not be reviewed.
Itemized budget and justification in the context of faculty-mentored undergraduate research or experiential learning opportunities (1-page limit)
Abstract (< 150 words) aimed at a general audience describing the project and how funds will be used.
Letter of recommendation for the student applicant(s) from project faculty member(s) serving as the student research advisor(s). A letter from collaborating faculty members may be submitted, but a total of no more than two one-page letters (including the student research advisor) will be accepted.
Commitment to writing a follow-up letter to donors detailing expenditures as part of an annual report on the project

Proposals will be reviewed by a single committee of Biology and Chemistry faculty volunteers (solicited by the respective department Chairs) who are not involved in that year’s Biochemistry endowment applications (i.e., are not serving as a student research advisor for a proposal or writing a letter of recommendation).